Every stranger could be a friend in the making and we never know when who comes to our rescue when we need help the most. Goodness always begets goodness they say.
For the last couple of months, I had an issue with my electricity bills. Although I was making the payments on time, it wasn’t reflecting in my account. When I was looking at all the receipts, I suddenly noticed that I had been entering a wrong account number all these months and hence, it wasn’t reflecting. In my mails too, I was mentioning the same incorrect account number and hence they confirmed receipt of payment. But in the apartment, the engineer who takes the meter reading saw that there was no payment for my account. When I realized my mistake, I was nervous. I wondered if they’ll ask me to pay all the amounts again because it was my fault.
Hesitantly, I went to their office. The chief Engineer looked at the bills and noticed the different account number. He was extremely polite in saying that the error was because I was making payments to the wrong ID and I should take care of that in the future. He asked another officer to have the funds transferred to my account without any qualms. What I thought may be a complex issue, he resolved in a few minutes. I profusely thanked both the officers and came out beaming. I was so impressed with their kindness and solution oriented behavior. I learnt a lot that day.
Firstly, I learnt that there are better ways to deal with a mistake than asking the person why they made a mistake. Here, I was feeling guilty but they made me feel better and helped me rectify it.
Secondly, I realized that people usually intend to do their best. Being polite and kind to every person around me and greeting them with a smile is a way of respecting their goodness within.
Recently, when my father was hospitalized, there was a ward boy and a nurse who became our most trusted and dependable friends. They were there for us round the clock. One other stranger who stuck around like a ‘friend in need’ is a cab driver. He would make a detour of an hour to drop either me or my mother at home each night from the hospital. He didn’t have to do that. He could’ve well said it isn’t convenient. But when I asked him, he said, “When someone is in need that’s when we should to be there for them the most. That is the true purpose of human existence”. I was blown away by his simple yet profound answer. These new friends gave me new realizations with the way they served a complete stranger – and no expectations whatsoever. They took care of us as if we were their own. They greeted us with a smile every day, even with the umpteen requests we had, and served us with such care. It has been a humbling experience to meet so many wonderful people from different walks of life who serve so selflessly and don’t expect anything in return. Thank you, for, I saw you as a stranger, but you helped me as a friend. You believe that, “To help, I don’t need to know the person. All I know is that they need help and I can extend that.” How magnificent is that!
Kindness – beautifully expressed!
Good exemplar of humanity in those human beings u have encountered. Divine encounter!