Dillan DiGiovanni thinks we should wave at strangers more often. Really.
I was biking to work the other day and this funny thing happened. I waved at some dude I didn’t know. But I didn’t know that I didn’t know him when I did it. And then I realized I didn’t care.
It’s too good not to share.
So, I’m riding along, (in a headwind that I knew better to wrassle with before I left the house) and approach the section of town where I’m headed to work. Since I work for myself, this means I work wherever I want to work on any given day.
On this day, I was headed to my favorite cafe. And as I rode alone, I thought I saw one of the amazing folks who works there walking along the sidewalk on the opposite side of the street. As I got nearer and nearer, I sized him up and I was almost certain the beard, glasses, flip-top cap and outfit matched exactly what my friend would be wearing.
“How lovely,” I thought, “that he’s up so early and out for a stroll.”
It didn’t occur as odd to me, in the nanoseconds that passed as I approached on my bike, that he was walking in the opposite direction of the cafe.
Since I was (almost 99%) certain it was him, and we were making eye contact for some reason, I raised my hand in a wave and he did too and then I rode past and felt a tremor pass through me.
“OH NO! That’s NOT someone I know! And that was SO WEIRD!”
And in the span of about three seconds I realized:
1) it was definitely not him
2) it was definitely weird that I waved to someone I didn’t actually know
3) it was definitely awesome that he waved back
As I kept pedaling, I kept thinking. It was a mistake, yes. It felt a little weird, true. But was there anything truly wrong or weird about that?
Not a darn thing, in my opinion.
A wave is a wave is a wave. It’s a universal sign for “hi there”, sort of like the head bob/nod. It’s acknowledgement of another person’s existence. It’s only something that fosters goodwill and kindness.
What would happen if we all just waved at people, regardless of whether we know them or not?
I encourage you to make mistakes like this, more often. Say hi and wave. If it’s someone you know, awesome. If it’s someone you don’t know, wave anyway.
And smile, too.
photo courtesy of Alan Vernon
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I live in south England, UK where it can be a bit grumpy in built up areas but I smile and wave often to strangers, who are “friends I haven’t met yet”. I talk to people on the bus and generally friendly and polite, more so since my son, who is now 3, came along as it gave a reason to reach out/approachable. I want him to grow up knowing that people are generally good and worth a polite connection, even if its just a smile or a wave 🙂
Come visit the Eastern Shore of Md – when my kids were toddlers, they thought I knew every single person we saw/passed on the sidewalk/road bc I wave/speak to everyone – it’s a ‘thing’ here.
fun article – thanks
Waving bye – R
and winking
Funny that I find this post seeing as I’m trying to spread this message around! You can simply impact someone’s day by a simple gesture. I remember waving to someone in my car and was asked, “who was that?” My response, “I don’t know.” LOL Wave and watch the smiles follow. WaveAnyWay.com
wow! That’s such a great coincidence that you found my article. I will go check out your site 🙂
Rachel, I never considered that until someone told me it was normal in other places in the country. Welcome to good ol’ New England! haha thanks for sharing and waving back 🙂