There’s a little game that I like to play at the grocery store that makes shopping fun for me.

The goal of the game is to make eye contact with as many people in the store as possible…and try to get them to smile.

That’s it! It’s an easy game.

Up and down the aisles, unless I’m completely focused on what I’m looking for, I try to see how many people I can make feel noticed. I don’t keep count. I just try to nonchalantly make a small, tiny connection with people.

The cool thing is, it’s easier than I thought to make eye contact with people and get them to smile. Very rarely does someone not smile back. It’s a fun game!

I’m reading Barbara Brown Taylor’s book An Altar in the World.  This morning, in between questions from my kids and telling them to leave each other alone every two seconds, I read this where she talks about interactions with the cashier at the grocery store…

“All that is required is to look back. Just meet her eyes for a moment when you say, “Thanks.” Sometimes that is all another person needs to know that she has been seen…You noticed, and because you did, neither of you will ever be quite the same again.”

I love when I read something that makes me go, “YES!!”

For the last year or so, my mantra has been:

People just want to feel Noticed, Valued and Loved.

For me, this is almost/maybe/probably is the key to life. If each day, we can get better at just noticing people, making them feel valued for the person they are and trying to love them well…we will have lived a great life!

I’m making my list for my weekend trip to the grocery store and ready to have some fun!