Strangers

Don't pass up on the opportunity to talk to strangers- it will make you feel better than most other things.

Conversations with strangers tend to happen in casual places, while waiting for the train, in queues, waiting to get served in the pub. Maybe you notice, often enough, there is waiting involved, and why not make the best of it? Other times, it is because we are upset or happy about something, and people around us share the same feeling. I once had the case of going to my mobile provider and complaining about my phone's touch screen refusing to work, when a loud woman next to me was giving them a hard time. I asked, what phone do you have? HEr answer was no surprise- the same as mine!

 I've learned that more often than we realise, people will experience very similar emotions to ours- be it frustration that the salesperson on the counter is too slow, or happiness that our team is winning, as we sip our beer in the pub. Even if we try, we cannot ignore that so much of our human behaviour follows the rules of psychology and to me, emracing it has made me friends. And another thing- ultimately, we probably all want food, shelter and companionship. This fact, combined with the fact that you are currently in the same place and time as someone else means that you already have so much in common, that a simple hi seems to be easiest thing to do. Last time I tried, I made a friend.