Smiles for free!

Posted on June 5, 2010 by Sarah Carmichael

For the past 24 hours, I’ve been on a mission. I decided that I would flash a smile at every person I made eye contact with. Everyone. Wherever I went.

I learned a few things:

It isn’t easy
A lot of people don’t make eye contact
People are not used to having strangers smile at them for no apparent reason

I am not going to lie; it was awkward. Some people did a double-take before smiling back – and some people didn’t smile back at all (though, they were few).

Mostly, people smiled back at me and seemed to genuinely appreciate that I had acknowledged them. I exchanged a few hellos and how are yous and it felt really good to connect with complete strangers whom I will likely never see again (or remember).

It was an amazing experiment. It felt good to smile for 24 hours. It felt good to make other people smile. It felt good to connect. I recommend it. I will probably do it again tomorrow… and the next day. Maybe not everyone, but everyday!

Smile!

The rhythm of the falling rain

Posted on June 2, 2010 by Sarah Carmichael

At this very moment, I am sitting beside an open window while the rain pelts down. I take in the smell the rain-soaked concrete and watch the patterns the drops leave on the glass, which is angled perfectly to catch them.

Lovely.

Life. Falling from the sky. The grass will be greener and the birds better fed.

Pen in hand

Posted on April 23, 2010 by Sarah Carmichael

I am currently sitting outside with the breeze blowing my hair in my face, writing with a pen on paper.

As my son digs for ladybugs and throws his plastic golf club in the budding lilac, I feel peace. I chat with him as I write; this pad posing nowhere near the barrier my laptop does.

There is a simplicity in this arrangement – a simplicity that I crave while being pulled to live online.

My paper is now stained with bubbles that have met their demise to the sounds of my son screeching in delight. Simple things - pen to paper, delight, bubbles, ladybugs…

It is in these moments that I strike a balance – when my online complements my offline without interfering with it.

Back to basics. Pen in hand.

I love living online; I’ve been doing it for 15 years – interacting with people, building relationships, and meeting wonderful people who have enriched my life. People who have become dear friends. But, living online has to fit into my life – the life that doesn’t need a computer to exist, or a wireless connection to thrive.

As I watch my son leave a plate of dirty cucumber slices out for the squirrels, I realize how much I take for granted in this world I know – a simplicity and an appreciation for what is right before my eyes and in reach of not only my fingertips, but my arms.