According to the dictionary, stranger is defined as one who is strange. Strange can mean a lot of things such as weird or unordinary or simply unfamiliar. When we were younger, we were taught not to accept things from strangers or not to talk to them. Every day, the news is filled with headlines of children being abducted by strangers or someone being killed by a stranger for no specific reason than they happened to be at the wrong place, at the wrong time. Ultimately, all these things have caused us to be very skeptical of those we don’t know but what happens when you come across someone unfamiliar who wants nothing more than to be nice?
Yesterday, while driving through Maryland, I stopped at a rest stop. I was in desperate need of caffeine to combat the lack of sleep I had gotten the night before so I jumped at the opportunity to hit a Starbucks. About 5 seconds after getting in line, an older gentleman, who took the spot behind me, tapped me on my shoulder and said, “Excuse me miss but today is your lucky day.” When he uttered those words, my first thought was oh god, please don’t be creepy. He continued on, “I’m a bus driver and I get whatever I order here for free. I am just getting a cup of coffee so get whatever you would like is free of charge.” Ok due to life experience, I have learned that there is no such thing a free lunch so I was extremely skeptical that something was not quite right here. But after only a few minutes of small talk, we both ordered our coffees and went our separate ways with nothing more than a hand shake and a thank you.
I walked to my car thinking two things. One, I felt badly for having been so cynical in regards to this nice man’s intentions. Second, I couldn’t believe that something so selfless had just happened. This man didn’t know me. He could have walked into that Starbucks, gotten his coffee, and gone right back to his bus without so much as uttering a word to anyone but he was nice enough to make a generous offer to a total stranger. I didn’t do anything to deserve his kindness but I was very thankful for it.
While this may sound a bit godfatheresque, usually if someone does us a favor, they will expect that favor to be returned one day. Yesterday, I was the recipient of a favor that can never be paid back. The chances of me seeing that nice bus driver again are slim to none and more likely to be the latter so I will never get the opportunity to return his kindness but I can enjoy the moment and pass on the good fortune because it’s not mine to keep. Instead of paying it back, I can pay it forward.
Later that night, I had a volleyball game to coach. After the game, my players decided they wanted to go to Taco Bell down the street to get food. One of them asked me if he could have two dollars so that he could get something at the restaurant. Normally, I wouldn’t be able to give him anything because I rarely carry cash on me but I happened to have some in my wallet. As I handed him the money, I thought about how that was probably the $2 I would have spent on my coffee at the rest stop and this was my chance to keep the chain of generosity going.
Someday I hope you all get the chance to be the recipient of a totally selfless act like I was and no matter how big or small it might be, I hope you too can pay it forward. That gentleman from the rest stop taught me a very important life lesson, which is that good deeds are about more than what we will get in return for doing them. In fact, maybe they have nothing to do with us at all. Sometimes, it’s just about going through life and putting some good karma out there for someone who might need it, in hope that they will one day do the same for someone else. Sure the free coffee didn't change my life but it definitely made my day, which is enough of a reason for me to try to give someone else the same feeling.
"Together we can change the world, one good deed at a time." - Unknown
No comments:
Post a Comment