This man walks his dog in the park daily. My walking companion, Maxine, and I have been having brief chats with him for over a year. We've been connecting through our walking activities. In all this time, we didn't know his name or he didn't know our name.
One day, a couple of weeks ago. after my return from my India retreat the man and his dog walked pass me as I was sitting on a bench in the park soaking up warmth from the sun. The dog sits behind the bench. I want to make a comment about his dog so I ask, 'What's your dog's name?' He answers, 'Red'. I already knew that Red is a German Shepherd dog and likes to nibble a specific kind of grass in the park that aids its digestion and Maxine and I are familiar with him. We exchange a few pleasantries and they move on.
While walking a couple of days later, Maxine and I see Red and his owner in the distance. I tell her that the dog is called Red and comment that having chatted with the owner for over a year, we didn't know his name. She laughs and says that his name is George. While I was away in India and she was on a solo walk she was talking to George and realised that we had never introduced ourselves. She told him her name and my name and asked his name. She didn't ask for the dog's name and I hadn't asked the man's name.
Subsequently, we all had a conversation about this and found it quite funny - hahaha!.
This morning as I was on a solo walk going down the hill in the park, I saw George and Red coming towards me and he was talking to a fellow dog owner. We exchanged greetings and kept walking. I started to think about connections and how walking and dogs helped to create interactions.
On my way up the hill, George is by his car waiting for Red to catch up. I call out to him by name (now that I know his name it's very helpful) and ask if I can take a picture of Red for a Facebook post and whether it was okay to post the picture.
George then tells me that Red has his own Instagram account, 'Red German Shepherd' and I also discover that George has a daughter who manages the account.
We parted and I noticed that I had an increased spring in my steps. Research shows that we are hard-wired for connection and empathy and even if you smile at someone and they don't visibly smile back, the micro-smile muscles in that person's face are activated.
On my way down the hill again, I saw four men with a lot of equipment. I wondered what they were going to do. On my way up the hill it looked like they were putting together an athlete's hurdle. But he added another long metal rod so I asked what they were doing. Putting together football goals. I continued walking up the hill and inferred/made up that they might be training children as it's the school holidays. There were no children there though. I got to the top of the hill, my last set, but I'm curious now. So I set off down the hill again and yes some children have arrived.
Curiosity satisfied, I take a picture from about 30 metres away as I'm on my way back up the hill. As I'm about to walk pass the group, I stop for a moment and ask if it's okay to post the picture. Another connection made and I'm feeling even better as they smile and give their okay - inner blooming.
The data from many research studies reveal that social connections are crucial for well being. People who have strong social networks and relationships/family/friends tend to be happier and even live longer.
Why not smile at someone or say hello to someone who you might consider a stranger today. It could be the thing that makes a positive difference to someone's day.
Enjoy making connections.
