Sorry for the delay in posting this. I had to try it out this morning to make sure that it worked for the rest of the day for my random act. Fortunately, I can say that it has.
I always see a lot of people walking around with scowls or sad looks on their faces. Maybe they are having a bad day, maybe they heard bad news, or maybe the just like scowling. Nearly 100% of the time, I walk past these people without giving it a second thought.
Typically, when I see someone overcome with emotion to the point of crying, I will at least ask if everything is ok or how they are doing. I just feel as though it is the right thing to do even if I don't know them. I guess this can be seen as intrusive but I'm not really worried about what made them feel this way as much as I am trying to help them feel better. Well I realized that regardless of if it is someone with just a sad look or someone who has broken down, I will at least lend my voice to help. So today, for my random act of kindness, I set out to at a minimum ask people who had a sad look on their face "How are you doing?" or "Are you ok?" I figured that it at least let them know that someone, even a stranger, is there for them. I was scared to do this because I figured most people would tell me to get the hell away or mind my own business. Thus far, I haven't really gotten into extensive conversations with the 2 people I have said this to, but they have at least thanked me for asking. We will see how the rest of the day goes!
I really like your blog. The "random act of kindness" idea resonates with you. This entry was particularly interesting because I live in a big city, so the look on many peoples faces is usually one of anger, slight fear, or general avoidance. I bet you made those 2 peoples' day!
ReplyDeleteI actually live in Chicago. That is why I was scared of the potential response. So far the response has been good save for one person who yelled at me.
Deletethe one person who yelled at you must have been having a really bad day or really did not want to be asked how they are doing. Sometimes we get into this loner mode of operating when we just plain want to be left alone and i cannot say for sure that this is what that one person was feeling or not but none the less keep asking even if you get the traditional lie response "i am fine"
DeleteI love your blog you are a very humanistic person, more people should try to do the same. Your a good role model Sir. And how are you doing today, if no one asked you.
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