The kindness of strangers.
Driving home today, I drove past a makeshift Pudsey sign before seeing a line of traffic cones along the middle of the road. It was a beautiful afternoon, the air freshly washed from the rain we had yesterday, and the light, reflecting off the orange and gold autumn leaves, gave a warm glow which warmed an otherwise cool day. The pastel coloured balloons, tied to the cones, floated gently and contrasted beautifully, as did the fireman flanking them; shaking big white buckets decorated with multicoloured spots, the theme of this year's Children in Need event. There was a carnival like atmosphere as people paused to make an impromptu donation, oblivious to the build up of traffic which would have otherwise be deemed an annoyance in Friday rush hour traffic.
As I drove past (after donating of course!) I found myself welling up at the kindness of people.
Times are hard for a lot of people right now. Economically. Socially.
We are all struggling in our own ways to make a mark in the world, in our own world, and sometimes this can be exhausting. I get that.
In fact I often get worked up about the injustices in society, and can allow feelings of impotence disempower and overwhelm me. But then moments like these remind me of all that is wonderful and great about the world we live in. How fundamentally we care, and how there are a lot of good people out there.
2 comments:
You know, I think it really is those small moments that get us through these difficult times.
It sounds strange, but I think for many people, when we are struggling, it's only then that people return to self, that a re-adjustment takes place of what is valuable.
We've experienced our period of plenty, over spent and over consumed and have taken the opportunity to consider whether it really made us happy. Well I know it has for me :-)
Nice shot - wonderful sentiment.
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