Why so hostile?  I ask myself that very question many times a day; whether it is while driving my son to school and getting flipped off by the guy in the sports car who feels I am driving too slow for his liking, the woman at the grocery store who glares and mutters when our shopping carts bump each other in the aisle, or the person who lays on the horn way too long when I happen to beat them to a parking spot at the mall.  There are many, many scenarios, and perhaps you have been victim to them as well… or perhaps you are on the other end, and are the person who has lost your cool to someone who you don’t know and never will.

I will admit I have lost my cool on occasion in the past; then I started to think “why am I letting this person I don’t know ruin my day over nothing?” It seems as if we have reached a day and age where being courteous to someone is a thing of the past for a lot of people; and I just can’t get my head around how some people can be comfortable with themselves after being so outwardly hostile to others throughout the day.

What ever happened to just laughing when something “not all that serious” happens?  What happened to smiling at someone and saying “hello” or “excuse me” when accidently bumping into each other?  When did common mistakes and accidents suddenly become perceived as a crime against humanity?  Is your day going to be completely shot if you don’t get that parking spot you wanted? No.  Did that person who accidently cut you off in traffic deliberately do it?  No.  Is the person who is in front of you in line at the checkout, and is taking a little too long to count out their change going to make you late the entire day?  No.  People are so quick to point out how stressed out they are, but don’t probably realize that they are creating their own stress.  It is time to lighten up people.  It is okay to be friendly or smile at someone… honestly, it isn’t really that painful to do.  Enjoy life… it is way too short to be mad at someone you don’t know, over some imaginary injustice.

Try this one out; if you want to really want to shake up someone after they have given you the finger or yelled at you… just smile and move on, because when you do that… you have just taken the wind out of all that hostility someone is aiming at you.  If enough people do it, we might just find ourselves back in friendlier times… one smile at a time.