What's in it for me.....being nice to strangers??????

During conversations the word “I “is used more than any other! That is not surprising when we think about it looking at a group photo. I took one after Worship*ship service one Sunday. Who is the first person we/I looked for? You guessed it sucka, ourselves. I wouldn’t say it is necessarily about being conceited; rather what we are interested in what we know…… We know ourselves (for the most part) and don’t get to see ourselves the way others do! Ironically, we should be interested in other people if we want to develop a relationship with them, right? Imagine if we wanted to speak to a crowd of strangers and we wanted to do our very best. We could start by carefully rehearse our actions of being approachable before the lecture. Next we want to be interested in the people who are in the audience. Talk to them before talking about them. Find out something’s about them, goals and expectations for the lecture, life and anything in between! I find that many speakers are hesitant about putting themselves out there by doing good things and being nice to others. 

Basically, all we have to do is great people with enthusiasm when we speak to them! Even on the phone, other can feel our calmness or excitement to speak with them. Don’t you hate it when you call someone and they give you the tone like you are bothering them? Really, I don’t like it when friends and family act like that, so why put up with it from a place that I am paying my hard earned $$$ to? I don’t think so Maynord!!!!

I have found that the expression on a person’s face is worth more than the clothes on his/her back.  You face should tell others that I am glad to see you or meet you! Think about dogs…..the one thing they got going from them is their eagerness to see you! That little tail is just a waging when you walk in the room and they hang around you like you are the most interesting person on the earth, all without saying a word. Imagine if you tried it! I once saw a man with an expensive Brooks Brother suit on and $400 shoes and a nice Rolex watch. I was like wow, that brother is sharp. I “attempted” to greet him and he looked at me like I was the scumm of the Earth. Then he got on his cell phone and started cussing like a construction worker who was short changed on his pay check for the 4^th time in 3 weeks. Shocked doesn’t begin to describe how I was feeling.

People many places are not quick to be friendly (WW) because they sometimes have walls put up. Consider waiting in the hospital Emergency Room. You don’t expect to see people laughing like they are at a comedy shop watching “I am Ward” run thru his funniest material, but it’s not the morgue either!! I once observed how this old man was just looking meanly at this little sleeping (at the ER) baby for what seemed like forever. The little baby suddenly awoke (probably from all that staring from the old dude-lol) and begin to smile this big Kool-aide smile at the old man. Do you now that old man started smiling back and even spoke a little baby talk to the baby? I was like “push me down a flight of steps and wash my dirty socks clean”. I didn’t see how one act of kindness could melt away a seemingly hard exterior facial expression.

My thinking is that most people are happy as they make their minds up to be from the time they awake in the morning. Please remember the Chinese Proverb: A man without a smiling face must not open a coffee shop! They say that because nobody wants to be around a grouch for long. People feel the sweetest sound in life is hearing their name and often. Spelled correct or pronounced correct and you are on the road to friendship. Get it wrong once and you on a special “I don’t like you list”!  With that being said, just keep in mind that we all give off a vibe (positive or negative) and we usually get back what we put out to the universe. Be elated and positive as much as we can. Never speak negatively of anyone, especially in public. Get to know others and be genuinely interested in people we meet.  Never be fake/pseudo, because a insincere compliment (those run down chuck taylors are so nice) is like counterfeit $$$, eventually you are gonna pass it on the wrong person and they won’t accept it. Just be honest or find something true to say.  Just being nice and accept people for the perfectly imperfect people they are.

I am WarD….