How do significant life events or the passage of time influence your perspective on life?
I went on a business trip last week and had interesting interactions with strangers. My relative ease at talking with them made me realize how much I have changed with the passage of time. I was painfully shy as a child. At sixty, I’m becoming like my grandfather, who chatted easily with everyone.
On my first flight, I sat next to two women who were within a year or two of my age. We quickly connected over shared interests and exchanged phone numbers. It felt like a serendipitous encounter.
In Phoenix, I went for a walk alone one morning on a path next to the canal. I was listening to birds as I walked. I saw a woman tossing seeds next to some shrubs, so I asked her what she was feeding. Quail, she said. Then she showed me a picture of a bobcat she had taken one day in the shrubs. At the end of my walk, I spotted a bunch of quail myself.
I chatted with the taxi driver who took me to the airport for my return flight. I initiated the conversation. He had such a philosophical outlook on life.
I spent the night in Denver because my flight was canceled due to the weather. This morning, I had a great conversation with the young Lyft driver from Tennessee, who picked me up at 5 am. He said I was one of the most talkative people he had driven that early in the morning.
And there was the woman I talked to last night as we waited to talk to an airline agent. We both felt invisible when a man ignored our place in line.
And there was the young man from North Dakota I spoke to this morning as we waited by the customer service gate. He recognized me from the Phoenix flight.
And there were two people at my gate who looked familiar to me. Both go to my church.
With the passage of time, I can see that life is short. I have something in common with many people I don’t know. What do I have to lose by being friendly? I hope I brightened someone’s day by not being a stranger.
Innermost Being 