Unexpected Offering

The subway is a virtual melting pot of DNA. I often sit and look at the immeasurable variety of people; faces, height, weight, eye-colour, foot size... incredible is the stew of humanity.

The day was waning for me, almost at its end when I thought to myself how I hadn't yet witnessed an act of kindness. In truth, knowing that kindness happens everywhere, I simply hadn't taken the time to look.

As I was having this thought, my ear-buds in my ears playing The Power by Rhonda Byrne, I noticed a rather shoddily-dressed, middle-aged woman speaking to a girl (about 19 years old if I had to guess) seated next to her. I couldn't hear what they were saying, which was interesting because I was forced to interpret their interaction using only their body language.

The girl seemed reluctant to speak to the woman. A reasonable response, reminiscent of our mothers' admonishments of "don't talk to strangers".  The girl nodded, then looked ahead, then nodded again, trying not to make eye contact with the strange woman.

The woman hugged a large sack in her lap.  It bulged with ratty clothes, newspapers and grocery bags. Is she homeless, I thought to myself? I looked at her shoes; holes. I looked at her hands; dirty. I looked at her hair; unwashed. Make your own conclusion.

She set her burden on the floor, reached into the sack and brought out a baggie of marshmallows. She opened the baggie, then presented it to the girl for her to take one. An unexpected offering from one stranger to another.  This woman, who seemed to be carrying her world in this sack, decided to share her snack with a girl on the subway.

The girl declined the offering but not without first fully turning her head, making eye-contact with the woman and smiling. As I left the train, the two were still engaged in face-to-face discussion. I still couldn't hear what they were saying, but it didn't matter. Actions spoke louder than words.

A Stranger Smiles

Can a smile from a stranger be considered a "kindness"?

As my first post, I considered this kindness, bestowed upon me today, as the perfect introduction to my blog.

After a seemingly long, not particularly stimulating day at work, I boarded the subway home. It was a relatively empty subway car. Typically, I scan the car, find a desirable seat (if there is one), and park myself.  The key to that sentence was "scan". Like many, I rarely look at people's faces, actually look at them. 

I sat and for just a split second, I looked at the man across from me - - and he smiled. It was brief, but it was there. I did a double-take, looked at him again - - and smiled back.

This man, this stranger in working man's jeans with a smallish cooler-sized lunch container on the floor between his legs, was human enough to make eye contact with me, and smile.  He didn't have to.  Maybe he sensed my humdrum. Maybe he saw disinterest in me, or sadness, or worse - - maybe he saw indifference.

His smile was just the kindness I needed. It reminded me that people can make a difference. It reminded me that observation of the world around us, can make all the difference - - or maybe just enough of a difference to get us through the rest of the day.

It reminded me that kindness happens everywhere.