How are you today?
The other day I was in a cafe and I saw that one of the tables had a sign on it…
I was curious, so took a look:
A Chatter & Natter table…
What a great idea! It got me thinking about talking to strangers – and particularly to older people, who might not have people to talk to on a daily basis.
There was a study where people were asked to start a conversation with a stranger on their way to work.
The study found that all of the people who had started a conversation with a stranger on their way to work felt it would be awkward, and that the other person wouldn’t appreciate them talking to them – but that it improved their mood, and the stranger seemed to enjoy the chat too.
When we’re out and about it’s really easy to get stuck in our own internal world.
We might look at the people around us and see them as little more than an obstacle in the way of our getting quickly from A to B.
When we stop to chat to people, we realise that everyone has an interesting story to tell. It can help us to be more compassionate, and to feel more connected with the world around us – which helps us to feel brighter.
And it might well brighten the other person’s day too!
An older person in particular may have some great stories or insights. They might really love to just sit down and have a chat.
Often these people are invisible to us as we rush about our daily lives.
If you’ve got five minutes to spare, why not ask some questions and see where that leads?
