It's True

I had a revelation this morning about compliments.

They could be made far better by keeping them free from attachment.

Consider the following scenario:
Guy walks up to girl, a stranger, and says 'You are simply lovely', then waits for her reply.

This kind of compliment is as far from being free of attachments as it could possibly be. It's filled with expectation, probably with undercurrents of fear of rejection. It demands a response which is also filled with expectation, which has to take into account the attractiveness of the guy, the girl's relationship status, and a myriad of other social norms in these sort of circumstances.

There might be no problem with that. Maybe it's even better than some alternatives.

But how about this alternative:
Guy walks up to girl, a stranger, and says 'I wonder if I could pay you a compliment, with no attachments?' She concurs and he says 'You are simply lovely' and leaves it there.

If you think about it, this second alternative is much less confrontational, easier to give and easier to receive. It takes away all of the difficulties of the first. Of course it still allows for a further conversation, just doesn't demand it. In case the girl wants to she can initiate something further, if she doesn't what harm has it done?

Did it cost anyone anything? Did it only improve both people? I think that it had little cost, and improves everyone.

Of course it's difficult to imagine this happening very often, and our expectations of each other will make this sort of interaction fraught with suspicions of underlying motives. 

What if we were truly able to free ourselves of these attachments and offer genuine compliments to one another without expecting anything in return? I think that could truly make the world a better place.