Okay, I must confess something. Although I go on and on about smiling and being friendly and loving your neighbor and all of that, I have a problem: I abhor small talk. Answering inane questions like: "So what did you do to cool off this weekend?" or "So, what do you do?" or "It's flea season you know". This fake smile, yes, fake, plasters itself across my face and I just mumble some semblance of a response. I am so bad at this. This, I confess, is why I write this blog.
If I am truly to love my neighbor and to be the Ambassador for Smiling in Vancouver then I have to see past people's social snooze inducing small talk to the point: they are being friendly. But, that said, if it was a hot guy or a cool looking chick then I would not even hear the minutia being spouted but would engage with energy. Perhaps I judge the people that attempt to converse with me a tad too harshly. If I am to spread the love then I have to love everyone. That,my friends, is the biggest challenge of all.
Please, if you have any words of advice regarding small talk and truly giving everyone a chance, and opening myself to loving them, then please, I welcome your wisdom with open ears. Just don't ask me what the weather forecast is. Thanks and smiles to you.
I'm responding to myself. Find one thing that is endearing about this person. Focus on that. Render them interesting. Maybe just knowing that they have some light in them that needs igniting will help to get past yourself in order to focus on them. Give, give, give and then you will not see it as small talk or boring talk but as stepping stone talk towards a perhaps, more interesting conversation.
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