Stories of Kindness from Around the World

Tonight, I was walking home from work. It was dark. I passed a man sitting on a bench built into a wall of a building. I saw his feet first. We looked at each other as I passed. I half smiled and he just stared at me, sad like. It seemed he might be staying there the night. He was wearing a thin sweater and had a backpack.

As I walked away, I felt the cold air on my skin and thought," I wish I had a blanket to offer him." My car was just down the block. I still have a bag from my grandmother's room. I haven't gone through it since she died. Haven't had the heart. I thought maybe there is an extra blanket amongst her things. There was one, I thought.

I looked in the bag and the back of my car but there was no blanket. There was my favorite winter hat though. I've had it for years. Made in Peru. It would keep his head warm at least, I thought. I went back to the man and stood quietly just a little away until he looked up.

I wasn't sure what to say. I didn't want to assume he needed a hat or warmth even. Maybe he wasn't going to stay there for the night. Maybe he was just sad and wanted space to be alone. What if I offended him? I hate assumptions.

We both stared at each other for a moment and then I stepped forward and said simply, "would you like a hat?" He looked at me then at the hat then at me again. I waited for him to tell me to go away or something similar. Instead his face softened and he said, "Yes, I would, thank you." "It's a nice hat", I said. "Yea it is", he said. "Okay, goodbye then" I said with a little wave as he nodded kindly and half smiled.

I am glad I had the hat to offer. I think I will start keeping blankets in the car. It's getting colder out there and more and more people are living on the streets. As Mother Teresa said, “Let us touch the dying, the poor, the lonely and the unwanted according to the graces we have received and let us not be ashamed or slow to do the humble work.”