Kick-ass quote
“Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear, and the blind can see.” – Mark Twain
Words from me
I still sometimes think back to those little moments when some stranger was kind to me. And it still makes me smile.
Something I’m thinking about
The other day, I was on my way home. I got out of the train and started walking towards the exit. While I was walking, I reached into the pocket of my coat and pulled out my scarf. In doing so, one of my gloves, that had been in the same pocket, fell out. I didn’t notice, so I kept on walking.
Luckily, a man I was walking towards did notice. He pointed behind me and said, “Wait, wait. You lost something!” I turned around, and a glove—my glove—lay on the ground behind me. As I started walking towards it to pick it up, a woman had already done so and was bringing it to me. She smiled, handed it over, and walked away.
I said, “Thank you.”
And thought about how nice people are.
…
A couple of weeks earlier, I was trying to catch a train. I was in a hurry, but I came too late. The train was already leaving when I approached it.
Then I heard something behind me. A woman hurried after me, calling out, “Wait up! Hey, wait a minute! You lost something!” She had one of my flip-flops in her hand. I had apparently lost it while trying to catch my train. And she was now running after me to bring it to me.
…
I know what you’re thinking: “Yes, those were kind gestures, but more importantly: How often do you lose your stuff?! Seriously. Get it together, dude!”
Good point. Both of them. I do lose my stuff more often than I would like to AND people can be great.
They didn’t have to bring me my stuff, after all. Their lives wouldn’t have been worse if they hadn’t. So, why did they care? Because they are awesome people.
And those were just small examples. There are random acts of kindness happening all over the world, all the time. They even made a Reddit page about it.
I want to tell you two more stories. But since my stories seem to be revolving around trains and losing stuff an awful lot, I’m going to share stories from other people with you. These two are from Reddit. I don’t know these people personally, but the stories they told touched me.
Here is the first one:
When I was 15 I was dating a much older man who was very abusive to me. One night he got mad and kicked me out of his truck in the middle of downtown LA in a bad neighborhood, taking my purse and phone and all my money. I was sitting on the curb, alone and scared, crying and didn’t know how to get home. A young man came out of his house and tried to talk to me. I was afraid of him, he was covered in tattoos, and you can’t trust anyone in LA. He knew I was scared so he went inside and brought his elderly mother out to show me he meant well. He ended up giving me a ride home, expected nothing in return, and repeatedly asked if I needed help. I don’t even know that mans name but I am so thankful to him keeping me safe that night. I don’t know what I would’ve done without him. Kindest thing I’ve ever seen.
stargrl444 wrote in on: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/jy48k9/what_was_that_one_act_of_kindness_from_a_stranger/
Here is the second story:
This happened years ago, but it still warms my heart. I’m a bartender at a restaurant, and a lady comes in by herself and is having a drink before her meal. She says she wants to pay for a specific drink, but doesn’t want me to make it for her. She had me add a dirty grey goose martini with blue cheese olives to her tab. She then told me this is her first time in without her husband who had passed away, and that was his favorite drink. Whoever was the next person to come in and order that, it was on her.
Fast forward to a couple hours later, a group of ladies come in together. One of them orders a grey goose dirty martini with blue cheese olives. I tell her it’s been paid for, and why. She tears up a bit, and one of her friends says that she (the lady who got the free drink) had also recently lost her husband. They all thought it was meant to be, and it gave us all goosebumps. Needless to say we all were tearing up!
Some final thoughts
Those are beautiful moments of humans at their best. Unfortunately, we’re not always like that. Far from it. That’s why I think it comes down to each of us. We, ourselves, get to decide which path we take. And that’s why I wanted to share these stories with you.
May you avoid losing your stuff. And also, who knows? Maybe you get to restore someone’s faith in humanity when they need it most, too.
Thank you.
Challenge
No challenge today.
PS—Can't help it
