As I sat on the bus one bitter cold afternoon, an old, worn-out looking woman trudged through the door, shaking the snow off her boots as she walked. Seeing an empty seat at the front, she said to the two people who were half taking it up, "Can I have a seat?" They moved their bags and she sat down and the bus continued on its route.
From where I sat, I watched the woman. She had the appearance of someone who had gone through more hard times than most people could deal with: the monstrous bags under her eyes and saggy cheeks said, I'm tired of all this shit. Even her attire, from the worn-out, aqua-colored, thrift store jacket to the cream colored toque, sloppily placed on her head, clearly showed that she lived in poverty and hardship.
But although she looked exhausted and just as worn-out as her jacket, something about her caught my attention. Her determination stood out to me, a vibe that said, my life sucks, and it's been tough as hell, but you don't see me giving up. As if she had realized long ago that real-life is not a Hollywood picture perfect story, and that even when it throws you sharp turns and seemingly impossible situations, you can never give up. it's only your strong will and determination that will keep you alive.
The next few weeks following my encounter with the second-hand-jacket lady, I'd come to realize just how really fortunate I was. Of course, my life wasn’t perfect, I knew it never would be, and there would always be a million things that I would find disappointing enough to complain about, but ultimately, I knew that my life was blessed far beyond anything that a great majority of people in the world could even begin to imagine.
Although the lady on the bus thought she was just going to Brown's Drug Store to buy some cough syrup or whatever it was that she needed, she would never know how much she actually inspired me, a complete stranger.
No comments:
Post a Comment