Talking to Strangers

Today Connie and I walked around Beaver Lake, through the woods and following along the shore, a good walk. When we got back to the car Connie realized she'd dropped her keys somewhere along the way. So I started back around to see if I could find them, figuring chances were slim to none. I'd walked a while when I passed an older couple. I thought I should ask them if they'd seen any keys but I'm not a big initiator when it comes to talking to strangers, so I nodded and started to go on by, but then I turned around and told them we'd dropped our keys, and they were sympathetic. I had scoured the trail a ways when someone called out in the distance. I looked back and could make out the woman. I ran back and she was holding up our keys. She showed me a fence where someone had hung them. She said if you hadn’t spoken to us we would’ve never noticed them. As an introvert, I have to regularly remind myself of the pleasures and sometimes very real rewards that come from pushing into the uncomfortable zone, risking talking to strangers. (Renoir–Dance at Moulin de la Galette).