Where's the love??

At the risk of sounding cliché, I simply cannot think of a better title for this blog posting. Before I lose you completely, please let me elaborate on my experience that has prompted this post….

Today my hubby and I decided it would be a great day to hit the bike path for a nice leisurely bike ride; the weather was perfect and we wanted to take it all in. Naturally, many other fitness enthusiasts shared the same sentiment as we did, and the path was quite congested with other cyclists, walkers, runners, and even the occasional rollerblader. It was an idyllic scene - the sunshine was vibrant & warm, birds were singing lovely springtime melodies, and I wished time could stand still so the experience would never end.

That is, however, until we set upon our ride………how quickly the mood changed! Since we were not in any hurry, many cyclists felt the need to pass us. No big deal, I understand the need-for-speed, and we did our best to accommodate and line up in single file so they could safely pass. More often than not, as we were passed, there was no “thank you” or acknowledgement of any sort. Hmmmm….you’re welcome?

Even worse was the attitude of bicyclists that were going the opposite direction. I strive to be a friendly person, and always say “Hello” to those I pass; after my greeting was ignored several times, I decided to perform an experiment and keep track of my reciprocated greetings. I am so saddened to report that my success rate was less than 40%!! This, of course, is taking into account the hard core athletes who are “in the zone” and merely didn’t hear my greeting, or were conserving their oxygen levels by not speaking; I’ve been there/done that, so they were readily excused in my experiment.

 Nope, I am talking about the Sunday-driver type who were out there like me, chilling out & going for a nice bicycle ride on a lovely day. Several of them appeared to have a phobia about even establishing eye contact with me, and when the words “hello” were muttered from my lips they sped up as fast as their legs would carry them to escape the uncomfortable encounter. This can really give a person a complex, ya know!

Did I have B.O.? Well, I was sweating a bit, but a quick armpit check assured me that wasn’t the case. Spinach in my teeth? No, nothing nestled between my choppers. What could it be? Me?

As I carried on this internal dialogue in my head, and was able to convince myself that it wasn’t ME, I eventually resigned myself to the fact that folks just aren’t as friendly as they used to be. Perhaps in this day and age we are all so consumed with our own lives & problems that we fail to realize that there are OTHER human beings on this planet too. How tragic, to miss out on so many opportunities to meet someone new, exchange a smile, perhaps even make a wonderful new friend.

This does not mean, however, that everyone is completely self absorbed; I did receive several enthusiastic “Hello’s!” & “How ya doing?” that I appreciated immensely and generated a grin from ear to ear on my face. I even received a very helpful tip from a kind man who told me that I “would benefit from having my seat raised just a tiny bit”. Cool, thanks!

So, the moral of this story is that I will continue to greet all those I meet, whether it be in the grocery store, walking my dog in the neighborhood, or bicycling down a crowded bike path on a gorgeous day, and I readily encourage you to do the same.

Even though I may be rejected by many, I will embrace and relish the folks who accept & return my greeting, and cherish them so much more. Life is good!