Stories of Kindness from Around the World

On my walk home one night, I see a man lying face first on the floor. One or two people notice him, but walk on by. I decide to stop and check if he’s OK. When I speak to him, he mumbles some words I can’t make out. From his breath it’s obvious he’d been drinking. I feel uncertain. What do i do? Do I help him? Or should I just walk on by?

I keep trying to speak to him until I get his name - Carlton. I ask him where he lives, and he tells me a number and a road name that I recognize. It’s only a ten minute walk from here. I help him to sit up so we can have a conversation. He’s still mumbling, but I realize he’s alone and in a real state of confusion.

He tells me he doesn’t know how to get home. Part of me wants to help, but there’s also fear arising. He's much bigger than me, 6’3 or so. In the end I decide to go for it and help him walk home. I get him to his feet, he holds onto my shoulders and arm, and we stumble to his home.

The walk takes about forty minutes instead of the 10. He's really uncoordinated, and every few steps he stops to pull his trousers back up because he doesn't have a belt. Throughout that walk, I feel a constant anxiety. Would he try and hurt me? Was the address he gave me a genuine one? Am I being lured into a trap where a gang of them might then rob me? Whether the fears were warranted or not, they were very present in me.

Halfway to his home, he stops, takes out his phone from his pocket and then hands it to me. I ask him why he’s doing that, and he says, ‘to test your loyalty’.

That moment struck me. All this time I was worried about what he might do to me. And it meant I didn’t have the capacity to empathize with what he was feeling. He was likely feeling the same anxiety. Would this random person try to rob me? Can I trust him to lead me home? What if he hurts me? 

So when he turned around and handed me his phone, as a sign of trust, I felt touched, and honored at this act of courage.

We walk the rest of the way to his home. When we get close, before I get to see the door number, I notice he recognizes his home. When we walk up, sure enough it’s the door number he told me. I feel a sense of relief. I hand him back his phone, he thanks me and I make my way home, now with a lesson in empathy.