Everyday Canvas

December 16

* ( deleted the original one by mistake) So here's my December 16 entry, again. Duh!

Prompt: About the strangers you meet every day, in the supermarket, while shopping, on the road, etc. How do their offhand words, random gestures, or thoughtful or thoughtless actions affect your mood (or someone else's)?

The world can be a fun place and at times a scary one. Lots of people are upset and they need to drag others to their level.

Something funny always happens on the road, for example. When someone gives my hubby the finger or says something nasty, he becomes so upset that I end up picking up the shards of his emotions. Our whole approach is funny in a way.

The other day, a woman cut us off on the road, flipping him the bird; I guess hubby was driving too slow for her liking. Then whatever else happened, our lane got stuck. She switched to the lane to the right of me. Then our lane opened up and her lane got stuck. In the meantime, my one and only kept complaining of women who thought they were from the Wild West. While we were passing her by, she looked at us. I smiled and gave her a little friendly wave. "Don't bug her!" hubby said, "She is a nut." But the woman started laughing and I laughed, too. It turned into a friendly fleeting moment from car to car.

I think being funny or smiling at a cranky person works, depending of course that the other person doesn't have a gun. At least someone else's bad day doesn't end up controlling my mind.

I learned this trick from a newscaster that we old-timers would know. I am talking about Walter Cronkite. Anytime an interviewee became testy, Walter Cronkite became extremely polite. The nastier the other person was, the more chivalrous Cronkite acted. I guess that is killing someone with kindness, but it works most of the time, as often my good humor makes them realize how big of a jerk they are being.

Then on the positive side, especially during Christmas season, people smile and say hello, Merry Christmas, or any other kind word, open the doors for others, let them pass in front of them at a line. Those things really brighten my day up, not necessarily because someone has been nice to me, but because that someone has the niceness and good spirit in them and they are spreading the cheer around. Around Christmas, there is more of that, but then for some nice folks, Christmas is in every day, which is so comforting to find out with all the negatives going on in the world.