When I go hiking, I am sociable; saying hello or good morning, and smiling at others on the trail. I don’t usually know the people I greet, sometimes they’re familiar as I’ve seen them hiking before, but they’re strangers for the most part. They’re usually just a randomly amassed group of people of all ages, gender, faith, color and language who chose to do the same thing at the same time. I’m not the only sociable hiker, there are others as well, and probably 90% of those hiking respond to others in kind! We greet one another with smiles, hello’s and good mornings!  

So I wonder, are we all as friendly once we have left the trails, throughout the rest of our day? What if we stopped in our busy endeavors long enough to make eye contact and to smile? And suppose we took note of the random people passing by rather than ignoring them because we surely had other things on our mind? It’s truly just by habit, this desire to connect or not! I know I don’t always smile and greet others, I get busy and self-involved I suppose. But if I find that microcosm of the trail so comfortable, why aren’t I also just as friendly the rest of my day?

I’m reminded by my daily hikes to be more friendly elsewhere; that often it’s not important that we humans have a truly noticeable or obvious reason for connecting in our experiences. Just in crossing paths throughout our day, we have more than good reason to be friendly with those with whom we come in contact! And I can surmise from my experiences on the hiking trails, that probably 90% of people with whom I interact will respond to my friendliness in other situations and places just as they do while hiking! It surely can’t hurt this world to be purposefully and genuinely friendly! Smile, welcome someone with a hello or a good day . . today!