I am turning into my mother. And I am finally starting to realise, that is no bad thing. How I used to cringe as a kid. Whenever we went anywhere it seemed my mum would be talking to strangers, chatting away with anyone we came across. Travelling was the worst.

With taxi drivers:

“We’re from Bermuda.”

“Oh how interesting!”

Then it would be, “blah, blah, blah” all the way to our destination. I’d be sat in back, mortified, thinking how weird and embarrassing she was, wanting to be swallowed up by the vinyl upholstery.

Three decades later, I’ve just spent the past weekend with my “bestie” in New York. I’m not a frequent Manhattan traveller. Despite the grid layout I still seem to struggle finding my way around. Suddenly the numbers are going up and not down and we’ve been going left instead of right. Don’t even get me started on the Subway system — no signs, no announcements. Heading to New Jersey we almost ended up on Coney Island! Spinning our map as subtly as possible to disguise our beacon screaming “tourist”. In the end, we just had to ask for help.

Despite their reputation, the New Yorkers we met were most congenial and willing to assist. Then there were all the other lost out-of-towners we found ourselves shuffling alongside, as we collectively ended up in stitches realising we were all in the same boat. “Where you from?” they’d ask. “We’re from Bermuda,” we’d say, and the conversations would flow from there.

Coming from here, we’ve grown up with, or become accustomed to, speaking to strangers; the essential “good morning” or “good afternoon” that we are sometimes ribbed for. I guess in a small place we inherently acknowledge that people we don’t know are not so much strangers, just fellow members or visitors to our community we haven’t met yet. Since community is about people connected, this is a small, albeit often perfunctory way of connecting.

I have noticed, though, in the past few years my “good mornings” have expanded. I might mention the weather or some bit of news, perhaps offer a compliment. I keep it upbeat, avoiding the “shared misery” phenomenon of group complaining. Some folks make it clear they prefer to leave it at “good morning”, but most are often welcoming of a bit of chit-chat.

People tend to light up when they engage, often happy to laugh along if you make a joke. I find myself refreshed and enlivened by the connection. It’s fun. In the midst of a busy day, amid all life’s pressures, there is something satisfying about taking time for our humanity to connect and bring a momentary glimmer of joy or levity to any situation. It’s a good feeling and I get the hint that this is what life is all about: connecting, bridging those gaps and finding common ground.

With age, I have come to see more and more that we’re all just trying to figure out where we’re going and that we are all in this together. How lucky we are, coming from here being practised in conversing with strangers. Let our children roll their eyes — they’ll turn into us eventually. We have a skill we can take anywhere, to bridge those gaps wherever we go — even all the way to Coney Island!

•Julia Pitt is a trained success coach and certified NLP practitioner on the team at Benedict Associates. For further information contact Julia on 705-7488, www.juliapittcoaching.com.