Teaching ourselves to "talk to strangers"...

Often times it is hard for us to embrace the unknown or to welcome a stranger into our lives. We are taught at an early age not to talk to strangers, and in turn, we are taught to close ourselves off to the unknown. If we never open up to the unknown we will never know what lies outside of ourselves.
Recently, we were doing an engagement shoot in Seattle's Post Alley at the Pike Place Market. This is an area usually bustling with people most of whom are enjoying Seattle's unique character. All of us are unique characters of our own but rarely, in this type of environment, do we share ourselves with others because we "don't talk to strangers". We walk past, we look down, we pretend to not have time to stop and sometimes we may give a gratuitous nod. Is it possible that in doing so that we are missing out on sharing and absorbing life's energy? I say, yes...
The four of us were walking down Post Alley on our way to the next location when I noticed a gentleman smoking a cigarette. He was a very photogenic man but even more he had something that made me want to stop and take his photo, he had a great positive energy. I am not an overly spiritual person but I could feel his energy so I had to stop. I asked him if I could take his photo and he obliged. In that moment, we both opened ourselves up to the unknown. We were strangers one moment and the next we were sharing life's energy with one another. As we walked off, he said "I want those negatives" (I think he was half joking) but since he shared himself with me I wanted to share with him so I gave him my business card. The next morning, I was checking my Facebook and he had invited me to "be his friend" which I was very happy about and a few days later I shared the photos with him.
Where am I going with this story? I guess I am trying to illustrate that if we allow ourselves to experience the unknown and "talk to strangers" that we can have eye opening experiences. We can share more than we ever expected with a complete stranger and they can share just as much if not more with us. We can share and absorb some of life's energy. Life is about experiences and growing as a person. If we close ourselves off to new and unknown experiences, how can we continue to grow?
Thanks Joe, for sharing yourself, your energy and helping me to grow!!!