by Judy
Earlier this week I was rushing through the grocery store after
work, trying to get a few last minute things for my dinner preparation. I was in a hurry and I was tired, but as I
put my items on the checkout counter I
smiled and said hello to the cashier.
She gave me a huge smile back and proceeded to ring up my items. As we bagged my groceries together and
chatted, she told me that I was the only friendly customer she had had so far,
an hour into her shift.
As I walked to my car I felt sad, and I found myself start to tear up
a bit as I got into my car. It was such
an easy thing to do to make that cashier's day just a little bit brighter - a
smile and a hello. I started thinking - panicking
really... I consider myself to be a
friendly person, and I always try to be polite.
But I wondered - how many times have I been in my "own
little world" thinking about the next thing on my to-do list, or where I
needed to be next? How many times had I
unintentionally left a person feeling like this cashier had felt before I
arrived?
I thought, just like
the 'just say no' campaigns, we need a 'just say hello' campaign. Surprisingly, I found online, that Oprah has exactly
that! She has a just say hello campaign! You can check it out here and participate if
you'd like. I also found this article written by a college professor about this
topic, and love that his college has a 'Say Hello' campaign in "an effort
at campus self improvement."
It's such a simple, but effective way to not only connect
with everyone we come in contact with each day, but a powerful way to make
those people feel good!
I am certain that all of you try your best to be friendly and kind, but maybe there are times that you are rushing, or worried, or 'in your own little world' like I am sometimes. I hope that today you will be sure to greet friends, and
strangers alike, with a smile and a hello, and make someone's day just a little
bit brighter.
