I thought I'd share something I witnessed on the way to work the other morning because it really moved me.
I was on the bus on the way to work when I saw a middle aged man get on the bus. He looked pretty spaced and unsteady on his feet and like he needed a good wash. A few minutes later I looked across and he was stumbling across the bus towards a girl, probably in her early 20's, who had her back to me. He sat on the seat next to her and put one arm over her shoulders and the other across her front, in an embrace and laid his head on her shoulder. I realised she was crying. He continued to hug her for a good few minutes, muttering to her in a gentle voice, "It's alright girl". At which point I got off the bus.
I actually felt quite choked up. It was such a sweet, child-like thing to do. I'm sure everyone else on the bus would have been thinking should I go over? But everyone else is welded to their seats, worrying about whether she would want them to intrude. Part of it I suppose it is being on a bus, where you have a captive audience and quite often people aren't talking either.
I personally don't know that I would want a stranger to come and hug me like that and for so long (!) but it was a really touching and 'human' thing to do. It made me feel ashamed that I would feel that I can't go up to a stranger and offer support.
I've had a few discussions with friends recently about interactions on bus journeys. I personally don't often start conversations with people on buses and I tend to be quite closed (particularly in the morning), which is really sad. I worry that I'll start a conversation with someone, then feel I have to talk to them every morning and that seems like effort at 7am. However, when travelling I would be open to speaking to fellow travellers on long distant journeys (as long as I wasn't feeling too nauseous!).
So....what I do take from this? Well, I aim to be more open to meeting and talking to people everyday, however that manifests itself. I guess I should come up with some better openers, rather than, "So, how are you finding the weather?" But that's a start :-)
I was on the bus on the way to work when I saw a middle aged man get on the bus. He looked pretty spaced and unsteady on his feet and like he needed a good wash. A few minutes later I looked across and he was stumbling across the bus towards a girl, probably in her early 20's, who had her back to me. He sat on the seat next to her and put one arm over her shoulders and the other across her front, in an embrace and laid his head on her shoulder. I realised she was crying. He continued to hug her for a good few minutes, muttering to her in a gentle voice, "It's alright girl". At which point I got off the bus.
I actually felt quite choked up. It was such a sweet, child-like thing to do. I'm sure everyone else on the bus would have been thinking should I go over? But everyone else is welded to their seats, worrying about whether she would want them to intrude. Part of it I suppose it is being on a bus, where you have a captive audience and quite often people aren't talking either.
I personally don't know that I would want a stranger to come and hug me like that and for so long (!) but it was a really touching and 'human' thing to do. It made me feel ashamed that I would feel that I can't go up to a stranger and offer support.
I've had a few discussions with friends recently about interactions on bus journeys. I personally don't often start conversations with people on buses and I tend to be quite closed (particularly in the morning), which is really sad. I worry that I'll start a conversation with someone, then feel I have to talk to them every morning and that seems like effort at 7am. However, when travelling I would be open to speaking to fellow travellers on long distant journeys (as long as I wasn't feeling too nauseous!).
So....what I do take from this? Well, I aim to be more open to meeting and talking to people everyday, however that manifests itself. I guess I should come up with some better openers, rather than, "So, how are you finding the weather?" But that's a start :-)
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