It all starts with a smile and a wave. – Krista Cupp

Unknowns

It was a vast room. In this room there were faces I recognized and others I did not. I did know the four main speakers in the meeting. I thought.

My eyes naturally began darting between all the people sitting around me; glancing at those I did not know as well as those I believed I knew. There were a lot of people in the room and I began to feel overwhelmed by all the needed relationship building around me. Then, my friend Krista Cupp’s words, from a meeting the day before, sparked in my mind.

“It all starts with a smile and a wave,” she said.

Then the first speaker began her short presentation. She, and the other three presenters, were set to describe their experience and knowledge of one man. Someone, all attending shared a relationship with. I thought I knew him quite well. That was about to change.

Krista’s words sparked in my mind again.

“As one of our local farmers said last week, a simple wave can go a long way! I think our community is known for its friendliness. I think we can lead the way by smiling and waving in a car, on a bike, walking...you name it.”

The second speaker began her presentation. I activated my listening more intently because I was beginning to make a connection between Krista’s counsel and what was becoming the dilemma before me. She told me more and more about the person we held in common. And, the more she talked, the more I realized my relationship our friend in the front of the room was not what I thought it was. I waited to learn more.

The third and fourth speakers continued to teach me more of what I didn’t know. They spoke of the small details of their personal relationship. Details I knew nothing about. Things I didn’t hold in common with them. Those things were revealed as glaring unknowns.

By the end of the meeting, my unknowns dwarfed my knowns.

“It all starts with a smile and a wave,” Krista said.

And now, I realized that’s where my relationship with our friend at the front of the room had started. And ended.

My eyes were darting between the people in the room again. They were glancing between the people I didn’t know and the ones I only thought I knew.

“It all starts with a smile,” I said to myself.

So, I began to smile at everyone in the room, including the man I once thought I knew so well.

Offering a smile was a start. A foray into the unknown. Perhaps it is necessary to look at one’s own cup before beginning or building any relationship? After all, it is impossible to add more to an already full cup. So, maybe it’s important to let go of what we think we know about someone, so we can discover who and what is currently unknown to us.

That smile and a friendly wave are the beginning of the important process and adventure of discovering, the all-important unknowns in others. The things, upon which, inspiring, satisfying and deep relationship are founded.