Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Strangers

I saw this video recently and got goosebumps and my leg hair grew a little, but more importantly, I absolutely loved the message behind it.  And I love the title that "strangers are friends we haven't met yet" and find that to be oh SO true.

More often than not people are closed, guarded, hesitant, you name it when it comes to strangers.  What if that wasn't the case?  What if we gave strangers a chance?  What if we assumed that strangers, like us, had the best of intentions, were willing to help us out if we were in trouble, were wondering the same things about us that we're wondering about them?
Often times we wait until big/bad things happen in order to do that something extra for a stranger.  It's some odd human nature thing that I'll never understand.  But what if we didn't?  What if we made that effort, consciously, all the time?  What if we followed through on all our generous impulses?  Not just buying someone their coffee or making a donation, but the little things, even smaller than that.  Letting someone over when you're stuck in traffic, returning someone's cart for them at the grocery store, holding the door extra long even if you're in a hurry…you know what I mean.

While a lot of us use days like today to remember, to honor and to thank (myself included), I also feel like we should use days like today to challenge ourselves…to be better people and in turn make the world a better place.  Sounds pretty lofty and idealistic coming from a random woman in Maryland, but when people add up they can do big things.

So today, I challenge you to do something, no matter how small, to make this world a better place.  Are you up for the challenge?  And heck, while you're at it, share it!

6 comments:

  1. This totally brought tears to my eyes! I think sometimes we get so consumed with the hustle and bustle of every day life that sometimes we forget to stop and smell the roses. You know, look at the small things that we're missing out on. Like this whole stranger thing.

    I love stuff like this. Thanks for posting that video and for posting this inspirational post. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. w.o.w! seriously amazing!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love this! Thank you for sharing :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Awesome post! I held the door open for someone today and I always give a shout out to my teammates when I see them on campus.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Great post! I'm sorry I'm just reading this today. I will do my best to be more generous with strangers and people I know and love! Thanks Tara!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Great post! I'm sorry I'm just reading this today. I will do my best to be more generous with strangers and people I know and love! Thanks Tara!

    ReplyDelete