I was out on a walk in a public park today when a middle aged woman came walking toward me from the opposite direction. Whenever I encounter someone during my walks, my reflex is to smile and say Good Morning, which is exactly what I did. The woman turned her head and stared directly at me, but she didn’t smile, and then just turned away and walked past me without saying a word.
I don’t why this bothers me, but it does. When I present a friendly greeting to someone, I guess I expect some sort of gesture in return. Just an acknowledgement of any kind, even if it’s just a smile. Her ignoring of me set me into a temporary funk. How rude, I thought. I suppose we don’t realize how even our briefest and most inconsequential actions might affect other people.
Fortunately, my mood brightened a minute later when two ladies walking side by side approached. They returned my greeting with a warm “Good morning! How are you today?” accompanied by a pair of big smiles.
Now, was that so hard?