By: Samantha S. Daviss
You know, I have been in some pretty weird situations in my
lifetime, and extremely uncomfortable ones too.
They have gone from massive fights, to being on the wrong
end of a train when it was uncoupling in the station, and realizing the end you
are on is headed in the opposite direction of where you need to be going, to
catching people in the act of cheating or lying.
But it’s funny how there is one situation in life that is
the most awkward and painful situation most everyone is in. And some have to
endure it on a daily basis. We try to change it, we try to make it better, but
it is just one of those unfortunate things that is out of our hands and our
control. But yet, it is so painfully awkward we don’t know how to react when we
are in the midst of it.
And this awkward time in our lives, which I know everyone
can relate to at some time or another in their lives, is that of…riding in an
elevator. See you thought I was going to be super deep with this.
But still,
why is riding in an elevator so painfully quiet?
Why do people feel that it is not okay to say good morning,
or how are you? What is it about that big metal box that puts the quiet hush
over every living soul in the world? I think when we built our new house, I
left out one major factor, and that is an elevator. I never thought about it
until now. Why wouldn’t I put an elevator in my house? It is the perfect “silencer”
for my children. Instead of sending them to their rooms, I will send them to
the elevator for a time out and a moment of silence.
Seriously, is there some unwritten law that states we
cannot talk to people while we are ascending or descending 15 floors, and
having to stop 12 times along the way? Why are we so uncomfortable with people
being in “our space”? Is that what the silence is for? Do we not want these
total strangers in “our space”? Because guess what, they can’t very easily go
anywhere, you are all kind of stuck together for the next 3 and a half minutes.
Sometimes when it is so deafly quiet I just want to start a
conversation…” Hi, my name is Sam, I’m a Pisces and I like long walks on the beach.”
That should really freak some people out. I’m not saying you have to exchange
social security numbers, but a friendly hi or hello would do nicely, or hey
even a smile might be a nice gesture.
Because guess what folks, the people getting on and off,
aren’t invisible, they really are there. They are stuck with you for the next
15 floors, so deal with it. It is just an observation I made this past weekend
and it caught me as funny. But the people that are probably the worst about it
are Americans. I don’t know if we are that petrified of people invading our
space, or we really dislike others that much, or we are just that self-absorbed
that we don’t notice or care about the other people standing next to us
shoulder-to-shoulder.
So here’s some homework: The next time you are on an
elevator, say hello. You never know who you may meet or where the conversation
could take you. People are pretty fascinating; you just have to make them feel
comfortable.
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