Saying Hi

I go for a walk everyday along the banks of the Fraser and the Pitt River, I walk for 6 km, one day, the next I walk 9 km and then I walk11 km and go back to the 6 km walk. I enjoy the walk and seeing the changes that occur along the river. Depending on the time of day, I see many other people out, walking their dogs, riding bikes, as well as running. Whenever I pass someone, I smile and say hi, or good morning or good afternoon.

What surprises me is the response, some people say high back, others nod, look surprised, and some do not give any acknowledgement that I have spoken to them. But 95% of the people do respond and smile back. I contrast this to an adjoining community where I went for a walk along the Burrard inlet, I saw just as many people walking, running and walking their dogs, and I smiled and said hi, to my surprise 95% of the people did not respond at all, and I wondered why. Perhaps there is a difference in the community that makes some people so uptight that they do not acknowledge others.

When I  posed the question to my friends, each of them talked about areas in their own communities where when walking people would not respond or acknowledge you and other areas within a few km, where everyone responded and gave acknowledgement.

I wonder why people loose sight of the idea that when another person says hi to you that person is not out to do you harm, so take the time and when someone says hi, say hi back.