The last time I held a video game controller was probably 2011, when our then 12-year-old youngest would regularly trounce me in Wii Tennis and Bowling. Despite my lack of video interest, I am aware of the term NPC, which stands for ‘Non Player Character.’ In the high-tech world, it could be a pedestrian on a street corner, a ’person’ in the crowd, or even an image controlled by the AI to move the storyline further ahead.
There are, or course, NPCs in the real-world environment. The stranger you pass on the sidewalk while hurrying to your next appointment. The person who hops on the elevator one floor short of your destination. The receptionist at the building you visit.
As an introvert, I am quite comfortable not engaging with people around me at a ball game, or at the grocery checkout counter, and especially at a cocktail social. One of my close friends told me years ago, “You’re the best 20-second conversationalist I know,” and he was exaggerating by about 10.
Yet, I’m wondering – amidst this age when our country seems disconnected, disrupted and distrusted – what would happen if I made time once each day to connect with a person otherwise in the periphery of my vision. Not to regale them with my point of view. Simply to say hello and ask how they’re doing. Then listen to their story without judgment.
Perhaps I might discover a New Player Character who isn’t all that different from me.
