Almost eight years ago, the Admiral and Princesses, along with a minor menagerie of assorted critters, and I traveled for three years aboard our sailboat.

Although we got to know many wonderful people in many different cultures, we were somewhat removed from “normal” society.

It was a good time in which we learned much, but none of that learning prepared us for what we experienced when we came back ashore.

In three short years, the way people interact with each other had changed. We were in a different place from where we had started, but the changes we experienced were disconcerting.  People had become more introverted and standoffish. Folks didn’t speak on the streets, or talk in stores. I am not a particularly gregarious person, but when I initiate a conversation, I expect the person to whom I am speaking to respond even if they are strangers.

At first I thought it was being in a new place, but as business and other travel took me outside the state, and even to previous areas where we had resided, I began to see the same thing, people aren’t involved in each other’s lives any more. We have grown to be islands unto ourselves with the current of life roaring by us. We see other islands in the distance, but the rushing water and cacophony of daily life draw our attention, and we ignore others. We have our own island to worry about.

People are too busy surviving to take, or make time for others. There are still a few that bake a pie for a neighbor, go to visit, or even to take a few minutes and discuss something in a store with a well-meaning stranger, but they have become the exception, not the rule. I set out to change my part in this.

I have known the destructive power of words since childhood, but the opposite is true as well, words can be powerfully constructive. They can build up, lift higher, make people stronger, and they cost nothing. I determined to use this power. I would speak positive words into other’s lives.

It is easy to do with people you associate with or know well. You can see a new hair style, a new tie, weight loss, that sort of thing, and compliment them. It brightens their day beyond measure. They too are victims of our closing society and whenever anyone notices anyone else and speaks positive words, their day has been made. That is my goal, to make someone’s day, every day.

It can be just as easy with strangers. You see someone wearing a clever shirt, remark to him or her about it, or if someone appears lost, offer to help. It can be as simple as a smile or head nod to an approaching stranger with an added “Howdy”. What you are really saying is, “Hey, I noticed you, you matter”. That makes anyone’s day. 

Maybe this closed off, hurry, hurry society is a cyclical thing, because I have noticed a slowing down. Maybe I have slowed down, but I don’t think so. I seem busier than ever, but there seems to be more interaction with folks I meet on the street. It feels good to have someone ask me, “How you doin’?” I try to do the same to the next person I meet to brighten their day.

In our get it done, get by, get home lives, take a moment to speak positive words into someone’s life. It doesn’t have to be much, and you will both be the better for it. Try it. Like a cold in a crowd, it’s contagious, and being infected by positive words is something we all can use.

David Wilson Atwood is a local writer whose human-interest columns offer a unique perspective. He may be contacted, at: www.starchasers.us, or david@starchasers.us