Slowly (An Older Fiction Story I Wrote)

         He stood there, watching all the people and becoming more and more anxious by the hour. He took quiet deep breaths and reminded himself he could do this, that he was a problem solver, that this was what he did here among his co-workers. "Among them.", he thought, wondering why it was easier then to relate. Quickly he realized the difference, it wasn't all of them at once, as well as many others added to those he worked with weekly. It sought to cripple him: the stress of interacting with so many people, all together, in the same room. As he battled it, he remembered how he dealt with the massive workloads regularly: one at a time; so he stepped out of his comfort zone and began doing what he did for income: analyze.

          At first he thought analyzing people and solving this social interaction problem would be the same as his regular work tasks. He soon found out this wasn't true. He could still use his skills, but had to apply them differently here.

         "Just start talking.", he told himself, unsure of what to say and where to even start a conversation. He wasn't known for his good communication skills and was painfully aware of this fact.

          He walked around the room wearing all of his insecurities while passing from person to person. At this point he decided to start out small, slowly, and simply found one person at a nearby buffet table. He went for some food and said "Hi." as he did. He made eye contact the best he could, and then simply waited. "Hi.", the stranger replied, and followed with a casual, "How are ya?". He wasn't prepared for this yet he took a small breath, struggled to think of a response quickly, and simply replied, "Could be worse.". "How about you?", he asked. "Grateful to get away from the congestion of people.", replied the stranger. Surprised by this honest transparency, he was again left unprepared. His curiousity got the best of him though and he asked, "Why?". The stranger, also surprised now, simply said, "Alot of insincere people here. I also don't do well in large crowds.". Grateful he wasn't the only one, he smiled softly for a moment, then felt comfortable enough to answer honestly and replied, "I don't do well in large crowds either.". He reached out his hand nervously to shake the stranger's. "Nice to meet you, I'm Frank.", he said. The stranger smiled warmly, welcomed and returned his handshake, and replied, "Nice to meet you too. I'm Mark. The company CEO.".

          "That was my big breakthrough for the week. ", concluded Frank to the support group. Everyone clapped and the person leading it all replied, "Great job Frank. Socially navigating through a large crowd is difficult, but the pay off was learning to communicate better. You started small, found you weren't alone, and met the CEO at your job. Impressive!". "Thanks.", said Frank smiling warmly. "I just had to start out slowly I guess.", he said, and everyone clapped again in agreement and support.

Sidenote: If any of the writing on this blog has made a good impact on your life in someway (EVEN if it was something you may have enjoyed reading for a particular reason), please feel free to share this blog with someone else who could be blessed also. Thank you for your support! 

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