HELLO BY ASHA DEVI RAGGU

 HELLO J

BY ASHA DEVI RAGGU

Well hello there! You, yes you! Whoever that is reading this, you have a beautiful face, but you know what could make it even more beautiful? Try Smiling. Now that is better. Are you thinking that you should probably leave the page and start looking up at something more useful? What could she possibly talk about “hello”? She is crazy if she thinks that I would have smiled when she told me to! Like what am I, five?  Wondering what on earth is this girl with a weird last name trying to accomplish here? Well it is stated right there in the title. I just wanted to say Hello!

We are all well informed that communication is a pretty important aspect in our lives. And of course, it is a two way activity. You can’t be communicating with yourself in public now can you? Unless you want to be known as a mentally ill person, please do carry on.  When we communicate effectively, there will be positive results. Interacting with our fellow beings will improve our self awareness, self management, personal responsibility, decision making and relationship skills. We all probably know that.

 To implant a rather simple but clear picture on what I’m trying to point out here is that people only talk when they want to get something done!!  When you have a favour to ask or because you are forced to work with them. After you get what you want, the next time you see that person, you just walk pass without even greeting one another. It is as if you have never seen that person ever before. Some might take it as an indirect way of saying “You have served your purpose and now you’re trash”. Ouch! Don’t you hate it when that happens? You certainly would  if you were on the receiving end.

Even though greeting sounds so basic, aren’t you amazed at how often people fail to do this properly, leaving you feeling ignored and poorly treated? Those who know me would know that I wouldn’t pass by without saying Hello. It doesn’t matter who the person is, the least you could give is a genuine smile or a wave of hand. We wouldn’t know how much it means to them and we definitely have no idea what people have to go through every day. For all we know, he or she might be having emotional breakdown for god knows why. If a girl is upset because her boyfriend forgot their anniversary, well then he is in for some silent treatment and a long lecture later on. But that is the least of our worries. The little things we do can make her day. Who knows she might want to get the silent treatment over a little sooner than planned? And how about the internationals? The ones who are far away from home. We can all be a little more sensitive to other people’s needs- especially their need for recognition and companionship. This is how we help them realize their tremendous values as human beings.

Of course not everyone react the same way when you greet them. There are various types people that you may or may not have met. First of all are those kind of people who keep staring back at you. Maybe they mistook you for having a staring competition or something. I’m sorry for having naturally big eyes,bro! I think if I stood there any longer, his eyeballs would pop right out of the sockets. I believe those are the special cases of people who have social anxiety. Then, there are the ones who look at you like you are some sort of alien for saying “Hi” to them in public. Some get surprised that a stranger actually greeted them and also not to forget the group of people who make it even more awkward. A long moment of silence. Yeapp.Nevertheless, thank the almighty God these are only the minority people that I’ve encountered so far. UTP is actually filled with lots of jovial people! The ones who actually greet and smile back at you. And you end up having a small friendly conversation. Those are my kind of people, the kind who makes my smile grow even wider.

What I find rather interesting is the fact that we see them physically, we don’t know how they are mentally and spiritually. We know their name, not their story. We might have heard what they’ve done, not what they’ve been through. So, why don’t we stop judging and make this habit as a norm in today’s society? Actually, this isn’t something new to apply in our lives. It is something that we have forgotten to inherit from our ancestors. Ask yourself, when was the last time you made the first move to greet someone? Nobody is too high profiled to say Hi! In fact, it makes you an even better person. It might seem like a light matter to be discussing about, but it isn’t. A ‘Hello’ is the shortest distance between two people no matter where they are. Add in a little smile and that is the most beautiful expression in this world. Start saying Hello and you will see what I see.

 

 

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