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We all feel it: The sun's begun its withholding ways.
The tree line is drawn sharp and spiked against the gray, indifferent sky. And when the rude wind pushes us inside, we shut the door and turn our backs on our neighbors without a thought.
Social psychologists tell us that our social skills still haven't recovered from the enforced isolation of the pandemic. We are losing our ability to draw emotional sustenance from the simple act of connecting.
Lately, though, I've been warmed by an easy flowering of friendliness. Small talk with strangers. And I can't get enough.
I probably shouldn't be so surprised by the afterglow of these fleeting exchanges. Rubbing elbows with strangers is commonplace for extroverts and the socially attuned. But not for me, a card-carrying introvert.
Something about that brief connection — a split-second eye lock, a lifting of the face, a softening of features — signals acceptance, an elemental kinship. The exchange that sometimes follows leaves me feeling more human.