A random act of kindness is priceless

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Admit or not, we will never forget the random stranger who once helped us save the day.

I will never forget the fellow passenger who gave me coins in exchange for my paper bills. He spared me from enduring the long lines of the ticket counter.

I will never forget a fellow college student who chased me for the Php 100 bill that slipped out of my pocket.

I will never forget the Taiwanese national who tried his best to communicate in English and helped me reach downtown Tainan. He specifically gave instructions to the Taiwanese bus driver.

After the long bus travel from Taipei to Tainan, I will never forget the bus driver who helped me find a taxi enroute to my hotel.

I will never forget the immigration officer in Hong Kong who accommodated me, even though his station was limited to diplomat passport holders. He smiled and uttered a warm welcome before I left. (Don’t you just wish that all immigration officers were warm and friendly?) This happened within the aftermath of the hostage taking incident in Manila.

I will never forget the jeepney driver who sacrificed an opportunity to earn. He willingly brought my Lolo to the hospital, after having been accidentally hit by a motorbike.

I’m one of those people who are always reluctant in dealing with strangers. In a way, I feel guilty about this.  In my desire to protect myself, I’m overpowered with the act of imposing a negative image to everyone. But when I’m alone and the situation demands for help, I have to pray, hope and rely to an act of kindness from another random stranger.

While it’s quite a challenge to move away from the stereotyped image I impose with strangers, I try my best to become the better stranger. J Pay it forward as they say, I wanted to become the trusted and the heaven sent stranger. They may not know my name. They will surely forget my face. At the end of the day, it always feels good to be remembered as the person who once saved the day.