From the walk to the bus stop:
To the ride on the train:
To the bus ride home:
Combined with the articles coming into my inbox, it's been overwhelming how much anger is being highlighted in the world at the moment.
What is missed, though, is the dog on the train who makes everyone in the second car smile as she greets them. Or the people who readily offer an older woman their seat. Or the young man who is teaching two children how to make turn their handprints into turkey on the condensation-rich windows of the bus, afford a mother a few moments of rest. Those small acts of kindness that bond us together, despite the many reminders of what divides us.
Oh, the dog sounds amazing, and the kind people offering seats and turkey lessons. So much division elsewhere, but those moments of kindness help me feel hope in what feels like a swirl of darkness. What contrasts on your commute.
ReplyDeleteGood for you for noticing those gestures of kindness! My FIL and StepMIL went to Michigan for a weekend to visit family, and they said that they did not overhear ONE conversation about the election when they were out and about. Total silence on the topic. I don't know if that's good or not...But I did find it interesting and unexpected! we tend to always hear about the people who are losing their !@#$ and saying/doing things they will probably regret, but never the ones practicing restraint and decency.
ReplyDeleteI love this. The heart inside the hurt/anger. Evidence we are still human and connected. Going to read some links.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking the same thing today, as I smiled at people and greeted them on the street. I've been invited to a book swap on Friday and am supposed to bring a book for a "strong woman"; I've been thinking about Mary Oliver's poetry, because she does just this: grounds us in the moment, in the connections, in the observations of the now. Thank you for this.
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