The Power of “Good Morning” Greetings

 

By Willie Jose
December 9, 2018
 


Yes, Virginia, some good things in life are really free.

Greeting  “hello, good morning” to people whom we meet every morning --while we’re walking on the streets, riding on the TTC buses and subway trains or simply sipping coffee at our favorite coffee shops in Toronto-- is often enough to brighten up their day.

Though at times, when we greet them, they are not even looking at us, so they would   instinctively turn their heads, smiling back and greeting us too.

Once in while, our greeting could even trigger a quick reply from them, telling us “ thank you, how’s your day? “-- and in turn, we’d say, “Well, we’re OK.” At times, they’d just wave at us and say “May God Bless You”

My wife and I when we do our daily ritual of leisurely walking down the Kingston Road all the way to the Guildwood area in Scarborough, we would often greet people we meet along the way; in reply, they would either greet us too or give us their smile of approval.

 Occasionally, we chance upon people who look sad but when they hear our greeting, they would glance at us and in an instant, a happy aura is visibly shown on their faces.

In this age of modern technology, when people are so consumed tinkering with their gadgets--cellphones, tablets, laptops  -- most of them don’t really have any interest at all even to say hello to people around them.

In short, they simply mind their own business.

With all problems and anxieties we face in this life, it’s a real challenge for us to take the initiative to greet our neighbors and, what’s more, some of us don’t have the motivation to do it.

Despite all these life’s anxieties, who knows, our greetings might bring joys to some people, thus allowing them to start their day on a positive note.

Well, we just do it and when we do greet them, this simple gesture will surely buoy up both their spirit and ours. 

Let’s always bear in mind the powerful effect of greeting people wherever we meet them; let’s all be messengers of joy to everyone.

On these trying days, a simple greeting coming from some strangers is like a pat on our shoulders, a healing balm to calm our way as we move on this life.

Some people would like to say too that Love is… greeting everyone “good morning”.