Thursday, January 11, 2024

The Gift of Small Talk

I love snow... I do. For the first couple of days. Its purity makes me think of the tenacity of us humans... there can be beauty even when things are a bit cold. 



Positive Pensées


Kathy King

The Gift of Small Talk


“People are are often unreasonable and self-centered.  Forgive them anyway. If you are kind people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.  If you are honest, people may cheat you.  Be honest anyway. If you find happiness,  people may be jealous.  Be happy anyway.  The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow.  Do good. Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway. For you see in the end it is between you and God.  It was never between you and them anyway.”  Mother Teresa.


How are you?  How is it going? Is a common phrase to say.

When greeting strangers, friends or acquaintances it is something that we all say. 

When you are asking or receiving this phrase. 

Pause, take a moment and try to find something to say that is uplifting, kind or even just a compliment.  

These small words may make an impact on another human’s day. 

Even when you ask and the answer is not great, remember you are making a small dusting of their spirit and soul.  

Take that moment and say, “You will be in my thoughts and I will pray for you.”.  

There is beauty in meaningful uncomplicated words.  

Put them into practice.  

Make those deposits into humanity.  

Your soul and spirit will benefit from these small changes in a meaningful way.  


*I wrote this back in 2022! I was sorting through musings earlier and thought… “Wow, my writing has changed.” The message is still the same. We humans can make the world a better place, even if it is for one person.


In our world the phrase “How are you?” has become basically meaningless.  The usual response is of course, “fine.” This phrase is used across many languages, the Germans say: “Wie geht es dir”  Or if you want to be formal, “Wie geht es Ihnen?” The French say, “Comment ca va?” That is just two languages.  It all actuality it has taken on the form of a greeting rather than an actual question.  I have asked several folks recently if they are actually going to answer honestly when they are asked how they are doing.  Most of the folks said they did not want to overwhelm people with their problems because they were indeed, not ok.  Others said they just thought it was just making small talk.  The last few years have been pretty trying for the world.  I would wager to say that we are not all feeling puppies and rainbows.  How do we take small talk and make the words meaningful talk? Try just giving a smile.  Compliment someone’s hair. Tell someone they have a lovely smile.  Tell folks I sincerely hope you are doing well, it has been a tough few years.  These words, these compliments actually do help a person to feel better.  Recently I read that each time someone receives a kind word or compliment the area of the brain that is triggered is the same area that is activated when someone receives a cash reward.  Giving a kind word can also help the giver.  Our brains are wired to focus on the negative.  This dates to prehistoric times when the brain was analyzing threats.  Giving compliments also can help us to retrain our behavior to be more positive in our approach to situations in life.  We can realign our thoughts to focus on the positive. Are there truly negative people absolutely but in the words of Mahatma Gandhi: “If you want to change the world, start with yourself.” 


Source: Fastime.com


My books are on Amazon!


The Quacktastic Adventures of Ellie and Lord Barks a Lot

The Case of the Missing Moo-Cow Bell

The Case of the Missing Bumbly Wumbly Bee

The Case of the Missing Wellies

The Case of the Missing Honk Honk

The Case of the Missing Ornaments


Clean it Up! Wash it Up!


Coming soon!

Appalachian Allegory: A Southern Novel


Buy me a coffee… pretty please… actually it would be a proper cuppa in my case. Thank you for reading! 


Patreon:

Positive Pensées


Paypal:  familyking8@gmail.com










1 comment:

The Gift of People Watching

Image Courtesy of Canva Pro The Gift of People Watching Kathy King "It is better in prayer to have a heart without words than words wit...