Friday 3 February 2012

The Generosity of Strangers



One of my hobbies is family history research.  A couple of weeks ago I was searching for someone in particular and was glad of the help of a friend.  Searching the internet she found someone with a box belonging to one of my ancestors.  The person who owned the box was not a relative and just wanted to give the box and contents back to a family member.  I contacted this stranger straight away but thought I would be out of luck but no, the box was still there and as I was a direct relative the stranger was happy to let me have it.

How lucky was I!  But above all, what a wonderful gesture this stranger was making. 

I am constantly amazed that complete strangers often give much more than they realise.  May it be a smile, a kind word, an act of kindness, it makes such a difference to our lives.  All too often we are rushing about, coping with the trials and tribulations in our own lives that we tend to forget that others are dealing with problems and issues that we know nothing of.  We could all do with stopping and thinking a little more, often just a smile, a touch and the words “are you ok” will work wonders.  We all respond well to the support, care and love from others so  it seems only fair that we try to give a little back. 

From now on I will smile more at a stranger, I will offer to help where I see someone in need, I will place a hand on those that need comforting and I will listen to others.  We can do so much without doing very much at all.  If we all tried a little harder to do a little more, how much better would society be?

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