A Stranger’s Smile

I’ve been wanting to pen this wonderful experience for so long, as it’s still a regular occurrence, which continually melts my heart.

Now, during this abnormal pandemic phase, it’s even more significant and an appropriate reminder for us all …

I live in the surrounds of a small country town in South Gippsland where my nearest service township is 40 kilometres away. This is where I purchase my weekly food shop and take care of errands. A while back, I was also employed in this town and commuted back and forth on a daily basis.

One particular day a few years ago, I was driving to work at around 7.30am. I would take the same route each morning, which involved travelling down a long, straight stretch of bitumen with beautifully nurtured gardens and farmland on either side.

Mind you, I never really noticed the picturesque scenery, as I was continually on tender hooks, thinking about my work commitments.

My employment position proved to be extremely stress-provoking, due to the concept being completely against my grain on many levels, hence I found it challenging.

I wish I had have listened to my gut feeling upon accepting the position, however it was a good learning curve!

I would have work on my mind constantly, much to my husband’s disgust. I was always one step ahead of myself, instead of being present in the now and finally (after much ego hesitation), I resigned after my husband disclosed he was beginning to ‘not like me very much’!

This one particular sunny, chilly morning, I was, as usual, highly strung and driving on auto-pilot, while organising my working day in my mind, totally oblivious to the stunning, surrounding physical world.

I was feeling disheartened and scattered and not in a good place emotionally at all, but one I had sadly become accustomed too over the previous few months.

Suddenly, in the distance, I spotted a person standing on the roadside, wearing dark clothes and holding a medium-sized, black dog by the collar.

As I approached closer, I saw this person to be a tall, ruffled, elderly man, with a slender physique, shoulder length, thinning, grey hair and wearing a long, grey beard. His waterproof coat, I assumed, had seen many winters and thick black-rimmed glasses were crookedly balancing on his nose.

The gentleman held a stick in one hand, which didn’t seem to be aiding his walk, and I sensed his furry, well behaved companion was protectively loved by the old man, who was waiting patiently for me to safely pass them by.

I, of course, slowed right down, not wanting to scare this beautiful dog or his owner, and as I drove by, the man, who was in a bent position, crouching and hanging on to his precious pet, waved his stick in the air to greet me.

He was wearing the most beautiful, approachable, toothless smile and his eyes were sparkling ‘hello’. He seemed so care-free and happy, and unconditionally offered me the warmest ‘Good morning’.

It was as though he had known me all my life and I felt so appreciated by this stranger!

The impact this experience gave me was lasting. This simple act of kindness brought me back down to earth and made me realise the importance of life.

Living isn’t about feeling stressed all the time and causing sickness in the process, especially worrying about uncontrollable situations. Life is about being kind and letting someone know they matter, and not worrying over the small, unimportant stuff. It’s about accepting YOU the way you are and letting YOU shine – just as this man role modelled.

I still see this gentleman and his dog regularly on the same stretch of road, in fact I look forward to spotting them and warmly returning his familiar greeting.

He’s become a significant part of my life now and always a great reminder of what’s real; more importantly, to ‘keep it simple’.

I have often thought to stop to let this lovely man know the impact his kindness has made on a complete stranger, but I enjoy the anonymity of the whole experience and don’t wish to change the energy of this special occurrence.

However, one fine day I surely will, before this gracious soul disappears from my life.

So please, especially during this ‘physical distancing’ stage, make friendly eye contact whenever possible and, with warm intention, heartily greet your fellow man.

We are not all in the same boat, but we are all in the same storm.

Support each other, don’t judge, be kind.