Dad and I went cycling today along a track in the Bay of Plenty.
Almost everyone who we came across smiled and said a hearty, “Hello!”
It’s been a while since I’ve been back in New Zealand, and I missed these outdoor greetings.
It’s not that they don’t happen elsewhere—because they do—but rather that they happen so reliably and ubiquitously here.
It reminded me of Seth Godin’s idea: people like us do things like this.
Things like this are a culture, a habit, a way of life.
They don’t just happen.
Not can they be bought.
And for all things that can’t be bought, they need to be cared for, maintained, passed down, and preserved.