I think we underestimate just how real and how deep the internal struggle has become.
We used to hide behind physical walls, but in this decade, with the opposition and polarity we have encountered, we have withdrawn layers further internally than before. And though we walk the streets and halls in public again, that internal isolation has traveled with us as we walk.
But, do you know that you – a total and complete stranger – have the power to help pull someone out from isolation with a single word? It’s true.
Just saying “hello,” making eye contact, and sharing a smile, reminds a person they are here, they are alive, they are part of a community, and they are seen. This reminds them there is still good in the world, and it is still worth engaging in.
Never would I ever have believed a smile was a risk. But it is in this current world. When you show another human, a stranger, you are willing to take a risk for them, ever so slight as it is, it changes everything. You may as well have stuck your hand into the pit to pull a fellow human out.
Say “hello.” It may encourage a fellow human to hop back into life.
Sarah Guldalian 