Say Hello!

While many of us pursue big, bigger, biggest goals, there is profound impact of small, tiny, and little moments in life. On reflection, these moments become momentous occasion to make friends.

Every day I walk for around 4kms in a park adjacent to my home. Each round of the park covers a km, so it takes 4 rounds to complete the walk.?I come across same set of people, four times every day, from the opposite direction. Our eyeballs meet for a moment, with rather robotic facial expression, lips zipped, brow filled with the summer sweat. Morning walks have become monotonous walks.

Then one day, I saw an octogenarian, full of good cheer and panache. He was brimming with laughter and saying hello to one and all. Although he walked with a stick, there was some aura that made him a magnet. His lively and energetic ‘hello’ precedes his physical presence. When I enquired about his pleasing personality, unlike anyone in the park. He was generous enough to share that when he started walking, he experienced the same gloom and doom. Now, rather than waiting for others to say, he started saying ‘hello’ to one and all. Today, everyone knows him, and he knows many. From past few weeks, I have used my voice (Hello) to make friends who were alien few months back and now are a part of my extended family.