We are noticed when we do this.

“People should be taught to look up while walking, to smile and talk to people, and not look down all the time.”

I will surely take the above statement to mean a quote which I extracted from a movie I watched last night. I was touched by it because of the morals it taught me.

The movie was about a young girl whose ambition was to go to Canada to work as a Nurse to clear off the debt her father owed. Her mother was late, and so, the father took up the responsibility to care for her.

She was working as a staff at a chicken hub in a mall. This is a large shopping mall where different kinds of people go and come to buy things and leave. Every day when Helen arrives at the mall, she was always seen smiling and waving at people. She has never frowned her face before and for this reason, everyone loved her and would want to make friends with her.

One day, she was locked inside the cold room where frozen foods were kept. She packed some cartons of chicken inside the cold room and unknown to the owner, he locked the shop and went home. Helen was in the cold room with the AC temperature at 18 degrees.

The father searched everywhere and after five hours, they decided to check around the mall. An old security man told them he has a feeling that she was still inside as he hasn't seen her come out.

After every attempt, they found her almost dead in the cold room and was rushed to the hospital. According to the doctor, a human cannot stand or survive in a temperature of 17 degrees in AC beyond a point, but Helen was locked in there for five hours with 18 degrees temperature.

When the old security man came to check on her, the father was curious and wanted to know why the man insisted that she was inside the mall.

The old man started his story that for 30 years, he has been working as a security at the mall, he has come across hundreds of people going and coming, and no one ever bothered to talk to him or even smile at him, but when Helen started working there, a day never passes by, she would wave and smile at the man and that gave the man hope and courage that there is still someone who notices him.

He said since then, he had never forgotten such a face. According to him, Helen waved and smiled at him in the morning while entering the mall and since he hasn't seen her wave back, he felt she was still there.

This is a movie based on a true event.

We all are busy with our lives and trying to hustle and survive, but it doesn't mean we should just keep staring at the ground while passing different people every day. Smiling at each person a day means a lot, especially to those who feel they are nothing because of their condition.

It still baffles me today to know that people notice me anywhere. I am someone who will always greet every person I come across or pass by, whether it's a known person or a stranger. I believe that humanity starts when we show love to others. Keeping your head down and not smiling at people isn't okay at all. We are always noticed.

For some weeks that I travelled, I didn't step my foot at the mini market around the school area and I didn't know people notice that until one day when I went to get something, different people were greeting me and asked if I travelled because they noticed I didn't pass by. I was touched and I felt the love of humanity.

There was a story I heard about a man who would always order pizza at an eatery every day. For many years, he always orders pizza until one day, he stopped.

The workers and employer taught it was normal, not until it was going to months and they didn't see him order. The boss started searching and when they found out where he was living, they discovered he has been dead inside and nobody knew. They took him out and gave him a proper burial.

If you must know, people notice you, either for your good or bad deed. Be kind to people. Always smile because you never know who needs it at that moment.

The old security man only felt loved the day Helen started noticing and waving at him with smiles on her face and that was what saved her from dying. Don't be too hooked up to your life or work, and not take out seconds to look up and smile at people. It means a lot because it saves them and saves you too.

Thanks for your time.

Image by Andrea from Pexels

[August 20, 2022] (No 232 articles for the year)