UK Experiment

     Well, everyone, so far the best news I have this week is that my sister, Cathy (Yeah Cathy!!!), has heard the whereabouts of my belongings, which should have landed in the UK back in March.  After tireless hours of research and phone calls, my dear ELDEST sister, was informed that my "stuff" is now on a ship across the Atlantic.  Although this is good news, I am skeptical of this information until it actually arrives.  I was informed of the same thing 3 months ago.  Time will only tell.  Once again, yeah for Cathy!!!

     Okay, now onto my UK experiement.  I must first give you a tiny backgound on why I chose to do this experiment.  You see, very quickly after i arrived in the UK and Reading, I noticed that many people do not look very happy here.  I said 'hello' to a few people just walking by me on the way to work, and when we caught each other's eye, no one said 'hello' back.  My new collegues noticed the same thing. 

     Well . . . last week I wrote in my blog that I was sad, depressed, and homesick -- which by the way, I still am though not as much.  Over this past long weekend, I was trying to force myself to 'be happy' or 'feel better,' which I know as a therapist is something that cannot be forced.  Taking my own advice which I give to others, I decided that no matter how down I feel, I was going to wear a smile on my face.  So, as I was walking to work on Tuesday morning, I decided to keep my head up (which I normally do when I walk) and wear a smile.  Not a cheesy or teeth-bearing smile, but a simple one.  That's when my experiement started! 

     I decided to smile as I was out in public and look other people in the eye (not a staring glare), and if we caught eye contact, I would say hello; no matter who they were.  By today, this has now become comical.  I get some looks as though I am a crazy person!!!  However, my finding so far are quite interesting because there is one population of people who usually said hello.  Wanna guess who they may be?  The homeless!  Yes folks, the homeless (or rough sleepers) are the only group of people who consitantly said hello or smiled back at me.  And you know ask/beg for money or food to survive; therefore they know just how important it is to be friendly to another person.  And, BTW, I am not saying that all homeless people in the UK or Reading are like this.  Nor am I saying that all the homeless are nice people.  What I AM saying is that the homeless population are good at being social.  Most of them know how to get what they need to survive on the street.

     Okay, now I know what many of you are thinking right now.  "Oh, sure they know how to get what they want -- alcohol, drugs, sex, yadda, yadda, yadda -- they all are like that."  I am not saying this to everyone who reads this blog thinks this; however, many people do think this about the homeless population, and it's a label that they wear as part of their status.  Evidence-based reseach has shown this to be true.  Personally, I do not believe that most of the homeless population are drug users, or alcoholics, or sex offenders.  I dodo believe that many are these things; however, many are not as well.

     Let me get down from my soapbox now and finish with my experimental findings.  There was also one population which almost never said 'hello' back to me.  That is the elderly population (60-ish and above).  I think I counted about five elderly people who said hello back, and only a few more who smiled back at me.  Which, I can understand as well.  I can see that they may not want to make themselves vulnerable to a stranger on the street by smiling or saying.  Maybe they are late for an appointment (since most walk slower - Cheers!).  Or, maybe they are just set in their ways and do not want to bother with a younger person.  I have no idea why this population of individuals did not return my smile or said hello.

     I am going to continue my little experiment through tomorrow to see how this plays out.  This just started out as my way of trying to better my spirits, but it turned into a week-long experiment for me; albeit a fun one.  This is a fascinating experiment which I recommend you try at home.  Why?  Because your little smile may brighten someone else's day and that is PRICELESS!!!  Isn't that what God wants us to do?  I believe it is.