Hey.

Hi.

How you doin'?

How are you?

Fine! Fine! How you doin', thanks for askin'.

Shalom, howdy, greetings, salutations... there's about a billion and one ways to acknowledge someone's presence. The important thing is, however, that we take the time to acknowledge their presence.

How often do we cross paths with someone and just ignore their existence? We look at the floor, we scratch our heads or retreat to looking at our phones as if pretending that we're "so" popular makes up for actually talking to people and possibly becoming realistically popular.

Growing up, parents will always find a way to embarrass us. For me, my dad's way was through having a weird obsession with buying light bulbs on Sundays and wearing Elmer Fudd hats. My mom's was always through her fearlessness to talk to and acknowledge anyone.

When I was younger I was a shy nugget. I was afraid to look people in the eyes, and I was afraid to say a simple hello, possibly because I was afraid of embarrassing myself. The world seemed so large to me. People seemed so much bigger and scarier than me. So like the timid turtle, I would retreat into my shell.

I always hated walking around with my mom because she would wave to everyone and their brother. At the mall, on a walk, at a stop light--oh she would never miss an opportunity to flash her way-too-eager jazz hand wave. Regardless of if she knew them or not, she would wave and go out of her way to drop a simple "hello" and a friendly smile.

My brother and I would always turn our heads when she did this, and then proceed to ask her if she knew that person. She could have easily lied to us and told us "yes", and we probably would have thought we had the most popular mom out there, but in reality, she didn't have a clue who they were. She always said it never mattered if she knew them or not, a "hello" is just a nice gesture and that one day we would come to our senses and see the value in acknowledgement too.

Looking back, I wish I wasn't so scared in the past to simply say "hello" to someone I saw in passing. You never know whose life you can be changing with your friendly greeting. Sometimes acknowledgement can be empowering and give people a purpose. Never loose sight of this.

There's a lot of power in a simply "hello," so say it, and say it often. It's a day brightener, a mood booster, and most of all, a way to make a lasting, positive impression.