Speak Up, Strangers!
Story: When a stranger strikes up a conversation with me, I enjoy the experience.
Yet, I am rarely the initiator…
Strategy: Get out of your comfort zone, strike up a conversation with a stranger!
Science: 1 minute podcast – Talking to Strangers Makes You Happy
I see those I do not know in a new light. I habitually used to compare and contrast those who crossed paths with me against myself, consciously or unconsciously. Comparing false narratives that were created in my mind. I was either better or worse.
This new light opens a hidden door of my mind. Of my soul.
Embracing the deep connection we all have.
We are each remarkably beautiful, and unforgivingly human.
I feel a stranger’s quiet stories, their unheard narratives. The small pieces that make them who they are. I cannot hear or see these stories, but I feel them deeply. I never used to go to coffee shops, but I now find myself drawn to them. A force pulled into exploring the sea of strangers that find themselves in the exact same place at the exact same time as me. Our paths are crossing.
There’s a silent community here. One that I did not realize existed.
I can sit at a table with a complete stranger for hours. Sometimes we share words, we share our world, we exchange contacts. I create a deeper conversation than I was ever able to have with friends I had known for several years. I feel comfortable as myself. Sometimes we sit in silence. Accepting the existence of one another. The comfort of unknown company. We are in this world together, embracing extreme joy and terrible tragedies. We can’t see each other’s stories, yet they both silently exist in this moment.
We are each going through this life, exploring the human experience. Unique to us, but one of the same.
On Sunday, a man interrupted the conversation I was having. When I say interrupted, I mean kindly shared his voice, his story, in a conversation that wasn’t originally open for him. I was caught off guard at first.
In a good way.
It was something I saw in him.
A complete openness and the ability to speak up that I admired. Especially in another conversation a table away with complete strangers. He overheard something that urged him to offer his perspective. His wisdom, advice, trials, and journeys. So he spoke up.
I loved it.
I enjoyed hearing this unexpected story and connecting with a person that I hadn’t planned. I welcomed this pleasant interruption. I imagined myself in his shoes, and I realized how little time I had actually spent speaking up. Engaging in conversations that weren’t mine to begin with, speaking with strangers standing or sitting near me. I never make the initial step starting a conversation with strangers in my physical presence. I am open, available, and vulnerable for those who make this step. Yet, I am rarely the initiator.
I think we need more initiators.
I’ve fallen in love with meaningful conversations with new and interesting people. For me, much of these conversations come with reason. They came out of mutual connections, or for an ultimate purpose. Rarely do I engage in conversations with no reason or motive. To say hi, or offer my voice to a stranger sitting next to me.
Our society has seemingly become more connected through technology, but physically disconnected in the presence of others. I walk sit, pass by strangers each day. As a college student, it’s inevitable to be surrounded by hundreds of other human beings. Yet, I only acknowledge and speak to a small number.
We have become a society where we pass by one another, trapped within our mind – within our own lives – our own motives. We forget to acknowledge that the individuals we walk by everyday have their own stories. With so much noise in our lives, we need to be mindful of what exactly we are turning down. Hopefully, we aren’t turning down our connections with those in our physical presence, and turning up the noise from the online world. With the abundance of technology, we have to be mindful and aware of our time spent on it. Is it providing us meaning and purpose in this moment? Or is it wasting our time? Is it keeping us from connecting to those who are right in front of us?
Say hi, smile to a stranger, start a conversation.
Be bold. You never know if your interruption could make someone’s day.
Your voice is important.
Speak up, stranger!
You may also like to read:
The Empathy Mirror
I was lost within our words, between your story and mine clashing. Our blinded lens to each of our own perceptions. I looked at this mirror again, after the warfare – tasted the blood, the stained guilt. I saw myself in you again. But this time, I saw me differently.