Stories of Kindness from Around the World

Lately I had started to question why I still would readily help someone, since recently my attempts at generosity usually turned around to end up hurting me.  However, this concern recently vanished thanks to a very kind person.

Last week, I was winding down a long day of train-hopping and dragging a few huge suitcases around with me to get home from visiting a friend's house.  I was rather peeved that I had to sit at the station for 4 hours for a bus that left at 10 p.m.

While I was sitting there tired and frazzled, a woman asked me if I had some change that she could have for a ticket.  Without thinking, I said, "Oh sure! How much do you need?" and then mentally kicked myself.  But I reached for my that I had buried in one of my bags anyways and fished out a $5 bill.  When I heard her stomach growl (it was one of those loud, angry sounding ones, too), I looked at a Danish I had gotten earlier from a vending machine and gave both the money and food to her with a smile.

When I did I, was able to get a good look at her.  She looked exhausted.  Not like she was going through just one hard day, but that she had experienced a couple of months of it.  Her clothes looked like they had it just as rough.  She looked relieved, almost like she was going to cry and thanked me.  She went to get her ticket, I went back to my book.

A few minutes later she came back over, and asked if I could spare anything else because she was still $5 short.  Going through my bag, I grabbed some singles, and then right before I gave her them, I slipped a $20 bill in there as well.  She thanked me and went back to the counter, and again I went back to my book.

About 5 minutes later she came back over to give me the $20 back.  I told her to keep it so she could get something else to eat, in addition to just the Danish, and that I was not taking it back, she started crying and hugged me.

Now when I have those thoughts of why should I help someone when it usually turns around to bite me, I will remember this.  Because maybe I really am making a difference for someone.  Even if it doesn't seem to get noticed, or if sometimes I regret doing it, it is still worth it.