I have a new friend. He used to be this terribly grumpy older man, stomping around the blocks near my apartment, with the deepest scowl I’ve ever seen. I avoided him. Then, one day, I decided to send him some love through a great big, dopey smile and chipper “Good morning!”
He turned into a shy, sweet, lovely older man, who almost whispered back, “Good morning.”
Now, on the mornings when I see him making his rounds as I make mine, we both spot each other coming a couple blocks away. The small smiles start before we can even properly see each other, and by the time we get to the meeting point, we’re full-on grinning from ear to ear.
“Good morning!” “Good morning!”
It’s all we say, but I think we kinda make each other’s day.
Which is to say, we are almost always rewarded for risking seeing someone as just a gentle soul, and not so different from us after all.
