A couple weeks ago two things happened that weren’t remarkable but were extremely memorable. First I went to a little coffee place I like and the guy that runs it showed me his homemade coffee roaster setup (like a pellet grill jammed into a closet), and it was like a Look Through the Polka Dot Door (niche content warning):

Later that day I went to a local record shop and started talking music with the owner. I was the only customer, so we spent more than half an hour discussing record pricing, other record shops and a show I was planning to see.

Nothing really notable, but here I am thinking about them weeks later.

This morning in the Guardian: Why we should spend more time talking to strangers. The gist:

While we tend to focus on our close relationships, psychologists have noticed that even what they call “minimal social interactions” can make us feel happier and more connected. One study found that people who had a brief chat with their barista, or simply made eye contact and smiled, felt happier and experienced a greater sense of belonging than those who treated the human being in front of them as an extension of the coffee machine. A 2014 paper poignantly titled “Mistakenly seeking solitude” found that people who were instructed to talk to fellow passengers on Chicago public transport felt more positive about their commute than those who didn’t.

I’m self-employed and work at home. There are days that I don’t speak aloud to anyone except my wife, teenager and dog. I miss a lot of things about going into the office, and this is top of the list.