Random feelings inside an elevator!

Photo courtesy- Vale Zmekov from Unsplash

Are you an elevator person?

Do you walk into the elevator comfortably and hang out with the rest of them peacefully and in total union with the silence, till your destination arrives?

Or are you among the ones, who see it as a suspension of their autonomy and in want of breathing space and involved in high intensity observation of the eeriness that has walked in presumably ‘with’ you?

I hence am a great admirer of people who smile instantaneously and invite me with a warm hello which I assure becomes a claustrophobic’s favourite moment and the invitor, a forever favourite liftmate.

Over the years I have internalised a few basic elevator basics to make both myself and the fellow occupant of the elevator comfortable:
1. I make very brief but pleasant eye contact with the person either entering after me or to the one who is already there, when I walk in.
2. If they are a familiar face courtesy- frequent elevator travel, I make sure that I nod or smile and keep a positive demeanour that is mostly well-received by fellow riders.
3. If they are focussed on something—anything—else in the elevator, I let out a friendly but nonchalant ‘hey’.

4. Post the salutation, I usually turn away and have my own ‘looking at the floor’ moment, which gives others the chance to enjoy the ride in peace, without forcing them to engage in small talk.

While practicing good elevator etiquettes is not the motive of this article, it is a good feeling when people don’t feel trapped, in jeopardy or uncomfortable in an otherwise not so dangerous zone.