Human Kindness
In this usually cruel, selfish world that we live in, today was the first day that I saw human kindness. Maybe it's because I've been walking around with my eyes half closed and just going through the motions not really enjoying and immersing myself in all that life has to offer. Maybe it's because I care only for myself and strangers next to me are like mosquitoes buzzing around that I quickly swap out of my mind without thinking twice. Perhaps it's because I live in a society where you are taught, at a very young age, that the world is not a nice place to live in and you can't trust anyone but yourself.
But today, for the first time, my eyes were open and I saw, for the first time, human kindness.
On the train this morning as I sway back forth on a 45-min commute into the bustling Financial District of DC where I work, an old man was clinging onto the railing for dear life simply because there was no room for the poor man to sit. Not only did this one generous man got up from his seat and offered his, but talked to this lonely old man the entire way; the old man was going to see some exhibit in one of the galleries located in Dupont Circle, one stop before my work. The poor old man was obviously not from around here and obviously was alone. He started to ask this young man all sorts of questions regarding DC and the wonders of the monuments and the museums and the galleries. The young man answered each and every one of his questions without any signs of annoyance and always with a smile as if he truly enjoyed this exchange (and I think he truly did). Everyone on the train around them was getting annoyed because they were talking, not even that loudly. The world is a cruel place for people trying to fit in.
After about 20 minutes or so, and three stops away from the old man's destination, the young man asked if he was meeting up with any of his family members or friends. The old man turned to the young man, with a smile as if to say it's okay, he said, "I'm the only one left in my circle of friends and all my family members are still back home in California. No one wanted to come, but I have never seen the Nation's Capitol in all my years, so I finally saved up enough money to come here by myself." I was shocked, and tears quickly came to my eyes. But as quickly as it came, it was gone for the reason that I don't want to be caught eavesdropping. I was sitting right behind them so every word was absorbed by the nosy little me.
What the young man did next shocked me even more than what the old man said. The young man told the old man to "Hold on one sec while I make this call." The young man, we learn at this point that his name is Robert, called his office and told the office that something had come up and he needed a day off; it was an emergency. With a "Have a Great Weekend!" he hung up the phone and turned to the old man and said, "Today I am going to be your tour guide around this wonderful city I have come to hate. But perhaps you will be kind enough to show me the wonders of this city that I have been so jaded to see." With that, the two walked off the train with the young man holding on to the old man guiding him and supporting him as they walked off the swaying train and onto the awaiting platform.
I have never seen anything like this in my entire life, but something in me clicked at that exact moment. It was as if I only started to be susceptible to human kindness today. I saw for the first time something my old selfish self wouldn't let me see. Kindness is in fact all around and it really does take one to know one.
But today, for the first time, my eyes were open and I saw, for the first time, human kindness.
On the train this morning as I sway back forth on a 45-min commute into the bustling Financial District of DC where I work, an old man was clinging onto the railing for dear life simply because there was no room for the poor man to sit. Not only did this one generous man got up from his seat and offered his, but talked to this lonely old man the entire way; the old man was going to see some exhibit in one of the galleries located in Dupont Circle, one stop before my work. The poor old man was obviously not from around here and obviously was alone. He started to ask this young man all sorts of questions regarding DC and the wonders of the monuments and the museums and the galleries. The young man answered each and every one of his questions without any signs of annoyance and always with a smile as if he truly enjoyed this exchange (and I think he truly did). Everyone on the train around them was getting annoyed because they were talking, not even that loudly. The world is a cruel place for people trying to fit in.
After about 20 minutes or so, and three stops away from the old man's destination, the young man asked if he was meeting up with any of his family members or friends. The old man turned to the young man, with a smile as if to say it's okay, he said, "I'm the only one left in my circle of friends and all my family members are still back home in California. No one wanted to come, but I have never seen the Nation's Capitol in all my years, so I finally saved up enough money to come here by myself." I was shocked, and tears quickly came to my eyes. But as quickly as it came, it was gone for the reason that I don't want to be caught eavesdropping. I was sitting right behind them so every word was absorbed by the nosy little me.
What the young man did next shocked me even more than what the old man said. The young man told the old man to "Hold on one sec while I make this call." The young man, we learn at this point that his name is Robert, called his office and told the office that something had come up and he needed a day off; it was an emergency. With a "Have a Great Weekend!" he hung up the phone and turned to the old man and said, "Today I am going to be your tour guide around this wonderful city I have come to hate. But perhaps you will be kind enough to show me the wonders of this city that I have been so jaded to see." With that, the two walked off the train with the young man holding on to the old man guiding him and supporting him as they walked off the swaying train and onto the awaiting platform.
I have never seen anything like this in my entire life, but something in me clicked at that exact moment. It was as if I only started to be susceptible to human kindness today. I saw for the first time something my old selfish self wouldn't let me see. Kindness is in fact all around and it really does take one to know one.
posted by Max E Pad at
12:36 PM
1 Comments:
Very sweet.
This scene will be a signficant turning point in your auto-biographical Lifetime/Hallmark movie. The old man will be played by dashingly handsome Sean Connery and the young kind-hearted gentleman by Robert Downey Jr. or Mark Walhberg, depending on who is not in rehab at the time.
By
Jeanne, at 12:45 PM, September 19, 2005
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