Last spring, I found myself living in Moab, Utah with a man who loves mountain biking and dreaming up ways to make the world a better place. Correction. Woody actually makes the world a better place — one person, one interaction at a time. (If you meet him on the trail, you’ll know what I mean.)

One hot afternoon while riding on a remote trail in the desert, he met another mountain biker. Woody immediately smiled and waved and shouted, “Hey there! How’s your ride going?”

The other biker said … nothing. Head down, so intent on his ride, he couldn’t even acknowledge my guy.  

Some people would have been discouraged by the biker’s indifference … Woody returned from his ride filled with inspiration:  “What if we start an initiative that inspires kindness on the trail by waving?” he said.

At first, I didn’t get it. did he fall off his bike and hit his head? “you know, just wave!” he lifted his hand. “you just wave! you wave! we wave!”

I was still a little dubious. just … wave? But instead of sending him for a ct scan, I went with it. Why not? We could all use a little more kindness these days, right?

With all our technology and devices, it’s never been harder to make genuine connections. The global pandemic showed us how much we need community. By waving we look up and engage with others — even if it’s just for a moment. Sure, I’m often too self-absorbed or distracted to acknowledge that another human being — another amazing, miraculous individual —is right in front of me. I might not ever see this person again — or we might become life-long friends. either way, waving reminds me to be present and honor that individual as they continue on their journey and I continue on mine.

Later that month, we went camping in Colorado and stopped in Vail to see our friend, Paige, who is one of those contagiously enthusiastic and genuinely caring people you’ll ever meet. She recently started mountain biking after overcoming her initial fears of going over the handlebars. She has these two gigantic Bernese mountain dogs and she loves the outdoors and nature. In short, Paige embodies the We Wave spirit in every way. So as soon as Woody and I mentioned we wave, she got it:

“We need wewave in Vail!” she said, “We need wewave EVERYWHERE!”

Paige immediately jumped in to make this humble idea a global grassroots initiative, starting in our beloved mountain towns. She began spreading the word to her friends and designed the iconic logo that’s now on all our stickers and gear.

Paige’s enthusiasm got us thinking. How else can we make it easy to encourage others to keep going on whatever trail they might find themselves on? In simple ways can we acknowledge and inspire everyone we meet? How can we connect with others in meaningful ways?

That’s what we wave is all about.