Nibble a Little

I found some joy in the simplest gesture this morning. A wave of the hand.

On my daily walk, I decided to take my 2-1/2 mile route which follows the Centennial Trail as it runs along Ponderosa Ave near my home. It's a really easy route, mostly flat with just the one small hill at the top of my street. This part of the trail is a bike/walking lane that runs along the side of the road, rather than like the main part of the trail that is it's own separate pathway, often following the railroad.

All that is to say, on this portion of the trail, there is car traffic.
(Click the map to see my route).

So today I decided to do a small experiment. I waved to every car driver, every cyclist, every runner, every walker on the trail for the simple pleasure of counting how many strangers in our mostly-friendly town would wave back.

Thirty-three.

It was quite fun to watch the looks on folks' faces.

Some looked quizzically at me as if to ask, "Do I know you?" But waved anyway.

Some pretended to not see me as they darted their eyes away from the eye contact.

Most simply raised their hand in like salute.

My favorites were the drivers that had one hand on the wheel, the other yackin' it up on the phone, and 'waved' with a single lift of their index finger or a nod of the head.

The walkers were the friendliest. They often both waved and wished me a Good Morning.

The more I walked, the more I waved, the more waves I got back, the bigger my smile grew.

It's such a simple gesture. And such an easy way to acknowledge the presence of another human. It's a lovely way to both spread joy and take joy.

Try it. Then let me know about your reactions.