It makes all the difference. One is polite. The other is enthusiastic. One is pleasant while the other engages. One is perfectly fine; the other invites you to join in!
Some cultures nurture calm facades. Their people come off as a little stiff, reserved, maybe even rigid. In turn that broadcasts a bit of distrust. Allowed to fester that may breed hostility.
Other cultures teach people to be friendly, talkative, and helpful. A stranger feels welcomed and embraced instantly. This portion of a culture, though, comes from the heart. It grows in time and enables others to feel it and adopt it as well.
Travel exposes us to these things. As our own culture continues to diversify we have the chance to embody these positive changes. One wonders if some cultures just won’t allow that adoption, or will dampen it.
Joy and jubilation. Feeling good about things and looking on the bright side of it. That’s what I’m talking about. So many people come by this naturally. Others do not.
There have been many times in my life when joy was distant if not totally absent. Depression does that, at least in part. Sometimes it’s a point of view or perspective on life. Other times it is a painful period of struggle that sidesteps joy altogether. Whatever its cause it is well if we find a way to move beyond it.
Slipping into a non joyous state can sneak up on you. You fall into it unawares. Little snippets might warn you of the condition. Others may tell you point blank. But at some point we become alert to the fact that joy is either absent or getting blotted out by something. It pays to find out why.
This blog, this journal, is really my way of discovering my own internal blockages to joy. This process has helped restore joy in my life. It is an internal thing; not external. We either let joy in from the outside world, or we block it. Wittingly or unwittingly. Sometimes we find joy inside; letting it out gives joy to others. It is part of jubilation. And it is infectious.
Wherever it is found, whatever its cause, Joy is worth pursuing. Like love, it is the gift that keeps on giving.
May we enter the New Year with both this quest and reward!
December 27, 2011
A smile a a quick, "Hi", or "Good morning", is also a great combination for disarming threatening people. See that "thug" approaching with the cap on sideways and pants hanging low? "Hey man, How's it goin" turns even the hardest looking folks into instant friends. No, it isn't 100%. Nothing is. But its close enough to make a difference. I often get a return grin and a comment. Been doing this for over twenty years and have never had a bad experience. I've been ignored (maybe he didn't hear me?), but never rebuked or harmed.
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