In Case You Need To Read This …
Hi there!
This will be a very short story that I want to share, and one that potentially no one will ever read.
I was taking on the tube this morning to the way to work after a very sleep-deprived night, and I saw a man sitting opposite me, looking quite down and upset.
He got up to leave the tube at a particular stop, but once the doors opened he sat down and tears started coming down his eyes. My first thought was to ask him how he was, but I got scared as to how that may look and how I may put him in an uncomfortable situation. I looked around and everyone was on their phones (not saying I am any better, as usually, I have my phone out too), not even realizing another human being is literally 2 metres away, having a bad moment.
I thought it was crazy how no one noticed, and then it came to me that if I didn’t try to comfort him, I would be part of the problem as well.
I mustered the courage and asked “Sir, are you ok?”.
It’s crazy how impactful those words can be when asked at the right time, when you need someone to ask. We ended up having such a deep conversation, that I missed my stop as well.
I won’t share some of the details of the conversation here, but I ended asking him “Wow, thank you for the honesty, I wonder how we got here?”.
He replied: “Sometimes all you need is someone to ask “how are you?” to make your day better”.
I know how these are struggling times for many, and I like for medium to be a supportive community. To anyone that may read this: you are of value, you are beautiful, you are special — it’s ok to not be perfect, it’s not ok for us to not be ok with it.
If anyone would like to chat, my dm’s are always open, and to end this story I ask you:
How are you doing today?
Manu
