I’m a singer—by nature, by habit, and by choice. And I have a trick of singing random stuff whenever I am waiting for things to happen. Thus it came about that one December night, I stood on the front steps of our church and randomly sang. I can’t remember if it was solfeggio, or just a little cadence or something. It was nothing big—only a silly little tune.
Our church steps give out directly onto a busy Montréal street, and as I was at the peak of my tune, I realized a woman was walking down the sidewalk in front of me. I stopped at once in embarrassment. The woman had headphones on, and I was singing loudly.
Man, I probably just really disturbed her, I thought guilty. What will she think of me?
In the second that it took for me to think this, the lady raised her head and our eyes met. I was all ready to writhe internally, prepared for the stare or glare Montréal strangers usually hand out to each other. I never expected what came next.
She smiled.
And she called out, “You sing beautifully.”
I blushed and muttered thanks as she walked on. The whole interaction took maybe 5 seconds, but I never forgot that sweet stranger. Her kind action was over in a flash and she may have completely forgotten about it ten minutes later, but it made a world of difference to a shy, self-conscious girl. Instead of it becoming one of the most embarrassing moments of my life, it is one of my best treasured memories that warms my heart and even moves me to tears when I recall it. There’s something in the bond created by kindness between strangers that is very precious.
Be a kind stranger today.
Katja
Kindness is contagious!
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