Shanti, A sanskit word that means 'peace' Options

[Prashantt Nair]

being a first time user and not knowing what to expect, i'm going to attempt an experiment. i want to see how many people (if there are any) share a similar mindset about the way we interact and live our lives surrounded with hostility and impatience. i notice people around me striving for better lives and in the process forgetting about the things that would truly make them happy. spending long hours in environments that they can't stand and eventually that manifesting in them venting all their frustrations on unsuspecting people who have no connection or control over their mental welbeing.
i like to travel, and i always try to catch the eye of whomever i'm walking by and flashing a smile. i get several different reactions to this. sometimes the person that i have smiled at frowns a little, trying to figure out if he/she knows me somewhere. when he/she realises that i'm a complete stranger the frow quickly deepens and turns into a scowl. other times they just raise an eyebrow back at me which is quite like, 'what are you grinning about'. every now and then (i wish it were more common) i get a smile back. for no reason. in my life thats what gives me true 'shanti'. if i succede at getting one smile a day, i feel really kicked. its sad that in our world everyone is so suspiscious and untrusting that they hesitate to even do the littlest things that derive the most amount of true joy. SMILE.

[*digital.fragrance*]

I do that sometimes too - or I go against what is conventional. Have you ever noticed that everyone always faces the door in elevators? Well, I've turned around to face everyone else a few times... and I always get weird looks. Come to think of it, even when no one is in the elevator, I feel odd.

Maybe I am odd.
Don't comment on that

[Prashantt Nair]

well, if smiling at people is strange, i'm guilty as charged. and really, its not just about smiling, have you tried going up to anyone on the street and tried having a friendly non-threatening conversation? more often than not you get badly snubbed or are admonished by an angry glare. my only problem is the way we deal with or respond to a friendly gesture like a smile or a greeting. because of the current belief systems around the world we take everyone as an offensive person until convinced otherwise.that is not fair, everyone should be given a fair chance and then the judgement shoud be made as to wheather or not the person is worthy of goodwill. the first reaction should not be a frown or an expression of contempt. it saddens me deeply that we intrinsically believe that most people in this world are evil and 'out to get us'. we need to see the truth. the truth that most people are just people, mostly good. i don't disclaim the fact that there are eneough loony people out there and there is a need to be cautious sometimes but it is really detrimental, not just personally but as a holistic social ideology to treat or deal with every stranger as a potential criminal. its really therupatic to just have the exact opposite reaction. to be unquestioningly friendly. that kind of demeaner makes it really hard for the roughest of hooligans to wrong you, looking you in the eye. if we are pure and good and happy, most of the time we will get that in return. may love and peace prevail.

[Jeng]

smiles are free.
hm people smile at me, but i just give them a...lil smile, no teeth

[Prashantt Nair]

just a thought. we tend to be so ready to trust our judgement to decide who deserves a smile and who does'nt. most of the time we calculate the risks of being forthcoming with something as 'blatent' as a smile as an extremely risky move. in my opinion, its far more risky to not smile than it is to smile (teeth or no teeth). i know that as a communicative means (naturally) it is sometimes offensive to smile or to have your teeth bared, but i think with humans you have to trust your gut and just smile, even if it means showing your teeth. i honestly believe that the intent of your actions will come through if you only have the courage to get past that initial discomfort of being the first one to do so. what's the worst that could happen? the other person would glare at you or look away, that is a really small risk you take. the important thing is that you give out a message that you mean no harm and only want to be cordial. and honestly, what more do you ask off them? we need to start having a little more confidence in the rest of our species. we give very little credit to the hardwired goodness that we all have within each and everyone of us. sorry for sounding so preachy but i really do believe we need to have a complete change of heart to be able to overcome this dark horrible cloud of mistrust and animosity that we create around ourselves.

[radhikaeatsraman]

This is a nice topic. But whenever a random stranger smiles at me or tries to start a conversation, I go along with it. I'm a fairly trusting person, but I do get a little bit thrown off in that situation.

[HakunaMatata]

I'll admit that I'm definitely one of these people who have not smiled once or twice. But when you take the bus every day, you're bound to meet new people. Some really nice, some really bad. And you can never tell. So first the first couple minutes of conversation, I play it safe. If they seem nice, sure! Conversations are wonderful. But I don't know, if I get a general bad vibe, I stay away. Like far far away.