Page 73 - EarthAngelsMatos

NICHOLAS BOOTHMAN
saying “Hi” to strangers on the street or in the park,
they might regard you suspiciously or think there
might be something wrong with you mentally.
Yet, the pandemic of 2020 made us realize just how
much we crave the company of strangers. But just who
are these strangers?
Familiar Strangers
Close your eyes and picture some of the strangers
you see frequently but never speak to. The ones you sit
or stand next to on the bus or train every day or pass
by at the office or school. You see them regularly and
they see you too. You recognize them; you might even
nod or smile or “mouth-Hi” them, but you never
actually speak to them. You might walk past a shop
every day on the way to work, a shop that you’
ve
never been into but you see the shopkeeper every
morning, so you smile and nod at each other. We call
these people Familiar Strangers.
Consequential Strangers
Now think about some of the strangers you have
interactions with as you go about your life who aren’t
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