Stories of Kindness from Around the World

Mere Glance at Crosswalk


--by bluebuddha, posted Jan 4, 2016
I feel like I'm always running around. And life, in its gentle ways, tries to slow me down. To stop, look, and listen to the beauty that surrounds us every day.

As I rushed down the street, late for a meeting (again), I found myself behind a woman in a wheelchair (going at a pretty normal pace). Not wanting to rush past her in my haste, on a crowded street, I slowed down and stayed behind her.

When we stopped at the signal light, I noticed that on the other side of the crosswalk was another woman around the same age -- also in a wheelchair.

Something really simple, yet deeply beautiful happened as they crossed one another. The face of the woman coming towards us changed, from tired, worn-out, and blossomed into a huge genuine smile. Then I looked to the side at the woman next to me, they both locked eyes for a minute and smiled wide.

In just that brief moment of passing each other, they exchanged so much. It reminded me of a nod that two players from the same team might give one another before they pass the ball. Or mothers with small babies in recognition of one another. It's this deep recognition that, "I get you." We are connected through something. I see our similarities and I honor them.

Now, of course if either of them had looked up, they would've noticed a third woman smiling broadly on seeing their interaction. It completely made my day to witness this small, beautiful gesture of truly "seeing" one another.
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Readers Comments

coolest ever wrote: People should appreciate such kindness
cwk34 wrote: What a beautiful story. Very heartwarming.

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