Human Kindness #6: Compassion on the Commute

Welcome back to Human Kindness! If you haven’t already, please check out Human Kindness: Introduction for the background to this blog series! These stories are NOT all my own, they have been submitted to me for the purpose of this series and are a collection from some of the kindest people I know or who have contacted me to share their story.

I am ALWAYS on the lookout for kindness stories, so please do get in touch if you have one, there is a chance for you to submit yours at the end of this post (and I will always keep them anonymous). As always, if you’d like to receive these stories directly to your inbox every Monday morning, sign up to the mailing list at the end of this post.

I particularly loved this week’s story because I remember how anxiety-inducing I found the morning commute to be at times, getting several buses and sitting in silence next to stone-faced people, all of whom seemed put out at the most minor of inconveniences. This kind act is a reminder that you have the power to single-handedly change the trajectory of somebody’s day/week/month. A very generous act from this week’s sharer!

“You know when you have a morning routine and you get to know by sight the other people on your bus? Well, before the pandemic, I would do my usual morning commute to work. At my bus stop in town, more often than not, I would see a hospital worker get on my bus with her primary-school-age daughter. They would get off just before town to get the little girl to school, and then the mum would catch the next bus to town to get the Metrolink to work at the hospital. I used to marvel at how organised they were, especially as so often, I struggle to organise myself.

One Monday, it was “buy your week’s ticket day” as I’m sure all commuters will know, and the lady got on with her bank card. For some reason this particular week, the bus driver couldn’t accept the card for payment, it had to be cash. She had no cash. The look of absolute panic on her face pulled at my heartstrings, so I gave her the £10 to get the ticket. There was almost an audible gasp from the others on the bus.

The lady profusely thanked me and told me she would pay me back, and I assured her it was no problem and that she could pay me back the next time we met at the bus stop. The thought of that little girl not getting to school on time and her mum grafting at the hospital convinced me they were a safe bet.

I got my money back and made two new friends on my bus journeys!”

Have you experienced an act of kindness recently? Maybe you have done something for somebody that you haven’t yet shared for fear of being judged to be “bragging” or you have been on the receiving end of a kindness that somebody has shown you. My inbox is ALWAYS open for your kindness stories so please submit them!

Stories will be treated with discretion and published anonymously at all times, and I will share as much or as little information as you wish. Message me using the form below and I’ll be sure to feature your story in an upcoming post.

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