Sometimes I can’t help but think that the number of genuinely good people out there is dwindling. Perhaps this is a common feeling for those who move from a small town to a big city or maybe it’s a by-product of an increasingly materialistic society. Either way, I feel like the longer I live in this city the more cynical I become towards the people who live here. People brush past you in the street without even looking at you never mind sharing a smile. Everyone looks so angry as they go about their daily lives never stopping to appreciate the world around them and all too often forgetting that the is life outside their 9-5 jobs in a shiny high-rise building.
This mentality angers me. And to be honest the longer I am surrounded by this mentality the more I feel like I too am getting sucked into it. I used to always be out with friends, seeing the world around me, catching up with the exciting events going on in other peoples lives and making exciting events happen in mine, but now it seems things have changed. Now I find that my days have become a constant routine of get up, get ready, go to work, come home, have dinner, watch some TV and repeat! How is it that my life has turned into exactly what I always swore would never happen. With this routine comes animosity and I think that’s where the good gets lost. (I’m currently fighting so hard to make sure this doesn’t happen to me).
However, every so often you come across someone who reminds you that despite 90% of people losing the good in them there is 10% who is still genuinely good to the core.
I had the privilege of meeting one of these people yesterday as I came home from work in one of the most unlikely situations – stuck behind a train.
I was on my way home from work, excited for the long weekend that lay before me when I saw the big flashing red lights and knew that I was going to get stuck behind the train for at least 15 minutes (the train that passes through always has an excessive amount of carriages and always drives pretty slowly) so you can imagine I was a little disappointed but I was determined to remain optimistic and so I didn’t let it bother me too much. Plus, one of my favourite songs was on the radio so I had some good music to car-dance to while I waited. Then a small bus pulls up beside me and as I look over I can tell the man is just about as frustrated as me as he humorously shook his head at the unlikely situation that lay before us. As he looked down the track and rolled his eyes before putting his hands to his head and leaning against the steering wheel I couldn’t help but laugh. It was unlikely and to happen on a long weekend of all times.
Next thing I look over at him and he’s laughing too as we both stare down the tracks at the never ending train. And in that moment this total stranger and I shared a moment of happiness bonding over such an unlikely situation.
Next thing I know he pulls up closer to my car and opens his bus door so I roll down my window and for the next 15 minutes we just chat as we wait for the rest of the train to pass. We didn’t talk about anything significant, just about the weather, plans for the long weekend and the end of the week but as the end of the train neared, and we said goodbye (and Happy Valentine’s Day) I couldn’t help but feel like that short crossing of paths was the best part of my day!
That older gentleman, Steven, was such a genuinely nice person that he struck up a friendly conversation with a complete stranger in the car next to him at the train tracks. He could just have easily sat there with his doors closed but he chose not too. He chose to be friendly. Likewise, had I been a grumpy person I could have chosen not to roll my window down but I didn’t.
The moral of this story is perhaps if we all started being a little nicer to those around us day-to-day being friendly and happy could be the rule, not the exception. So smile at the person in the car next to you, say hello to the person you meet in the elevator or strike up a conversation with the person standing next to you in the line at the coffee shop. You never know what that one little gesture might mean to them…it might just make their day!
R xxx
Being Rachel 