look up.

"never bend your head. hold it high. look the world straight in the eye."

helen keller

i saw this quotation on the wall of my yoga studio as i was leaving on friday night. i thought of how many times i avert my eyes when walking on the street; how sometimes i want to say 'good morning' and i don't.

my aunts from san francisco came for the weekend and my aunt deette told me she always says good morning to the people she passes when she walks her puppydog, and sometimes she keeps track of how many say hello back.. somedays it's two out of three and sometimes it's only two out of the twenty or so people she passes.

after we left the farmer's market we walked down t street towards my apartment. the sun was shining, the sky was a crisp blue, and there was a strong breeze. a man walked out of his house with his coffee mug and looked up at the sky and smiled. "hi," i said. he looked at me surprised and gave me a big smile. "isn't it the most beautiful day?" i said and really, really meant it.

"it really is," he said, looking me square in the eye and grinning. it was funny to connect like that after all of that talk about looking down and feeling cold. i'd just met the warmest man in the world.