Here are two of my favorite mascots. They are for a local food store and a campground respectively. The grocery store is close to my house and the campground is not all that far from my work. I drive by them both fairly often. 

The other day while driving by the campground I  began to ponder why I enjoy them as much as I  do. As the work vehicle roared along down the road past the sign for the campground my hand went up in a wave. Why? Well the bear on the sign is smiling and waving. So is the pig on the grocery sign. A quick confession here is that often I find myself waving at both. Why does a fairly sane man find himself greeting animals on signs? Simply because I enjoy a bright smiling face that is encompanied by a wave. 

Here is what occurred to me,  if these signs can brighten my day and even cause me to wave more often than not, why can’t i do the same? Why can’t you? 

All too often we here how the world has become unfriendly and cold. We can do our part to start the thaw by doing just what the pig and bear are doing on these signs. All we need to do is smile and wave to each other. If the thought of this makes you too uncomfortable try it while you are in your car at a red light or some other time when there is a quick escape is available. 

Here is what I noticed and you may notice too. Not only do people have a shocked smile on their faces, but seeing that will give you a good feeling as well. There really is no downside. 

Try this for a week and feel free to share your experience in the comments below.