The Kindness Of Strangers

Day off today, well, sort of. I spent the morning sorting out malfunctioning telephones, cream jars, and finalising the order for the next batch of labels. I finally kicked back about 30 minutes ago and started reading our local residents journal. It was the usual mix of the latest trendy restaurants, boutiques, and houses I can’t afford…yet 🙂 Nirvana, in other words. However, I was much struck by one of the letters sent in, which I quote in full–‘To the woman I helped up near Ealing Broadway station; don’t be embarrassed. You said you were mortified but the rain was coming down so hard, anyone could have slipped on the pavement. Glad you’re okay and don’t worry- not many people saw it happen. ‘- Mr Lustig.

It was that last bit that hooked me. Isn’t that just the loveliest letter. Even after the event, this guy took the time to still try and reassure the woman. I think kindness is the best and most underrated of all the virtues— I also think it’s the rarest one of all. It made me think of an incident that happened to me at work last week where I made an error which led to someone else running around all weekend, trying to figure out what the hell I’d done.

There was therefore a lot of going back and forth but what struck me about all my interactions with my colleague was how kind she was about trying to make me feel better about my stupid schoolboy error. Even over the phone, her kindness came through loud and clear, and I thought about how unusual that is. Invariably, when people sort out a problem you’ve caused, even when they tell you not to worry, you can tell they’d love to smack you around the head, quite rightly! I was just really touched by her grace and just sheer niceness, fixing everything and calling to let me know it was all resolved. So, Aliyah, please step forward and take a bow. You are a credit to the human race. I’ve been really lucky to meet some excellent people lately. So Aliyah, Camille, Pamela, Zara, Hardik and Moh, Sharif, Tofael & Ibrahim, I hope these images brighten up your day. You’re all so cool, you’re frosty.