This morning, I was on the bus to work, already in a terrible mood. The traffic was slow, the bus was crowded, and I just wanted to get there and be done with the day.
I noticed this old man sitting across from me, staring at me. Not just glancing — staring. It made my bad mood worse.
I snapped at him, “What’s your problem?” He didn’t respond, just kept looking at me.
I got angrier. “Seriously, why are you staring at me?” Still nothing. He just lowered his eyes.
When it was his stop, he got up and, as he passed me, he handed me a folded piece of paper and got off the bus.
I opened it, and this is what it said:
“I’m so sorry. I’m deaf and I couldn’t hear what you said. I didn’t mean to upset you. You just look exactly like my late son. I haven’t seen his face in so long and I miss him so much.”
I felt like the worst person in the world.
I spent the rest of the ride thinking about how I had let my own irritation blind me to someone else’s pain. It’s a lesson I’ll never forget.
Be kind. You never know what someone else is carrying. ❤️