Stories of Kindness from Around the World

A few years ago I was at an international conference with nearly 700 participants. One afternoon I attended a very crowded talk by a famous author. The hall filled quickly and soon there were no seats left but many dozens of people standing around the edges.

I saw a very elderly man, stooped slightly from age, leaning against the wall. I immediately got up, told those sitting beside me to hold the place for him and made my way to him. When I offered my seat to him, he looked surprised and started to refuse, but I would have none of that. He asked me my name and thanked me deeply, then made his way back into my row and sat comfortably.  Many people who witnessed our exchange turned to say what a kind thing I had done and made quite a fuss over it. I kept saying "It's nothing special. I'm from Canada. It's normal for us to help other people!"

A few minutes later the man sitting next to the elderly man chose to leave the hall for another talk and the elderly man beckoned for me to return and sit beside him. At first I resisted, thinking someone else might need it more, but a small group sitting around him started to chant my name, asking me to come and sit! So I returned and sat beside the gentleman for the talk.

When the talk was over, the man thanked me again and quietly asked if I knew who he was. I had no idea. He then looked quite delighted and told me a household name that I recognized immediately!

I was astonished and thrilled to have been sitting next to him, but he was thrilled to think I had given up my seat for him without knowing who he was! Again I had to tell him, where I come from, it's the normal thing to do! I have felt more blessed to be a Canadian since that day, for seeing how easy it is to help someone and how rare it seemed to so many people.