this week on my way to work during rush hour i noticed a girl/guy (whom i'll just refer to as Mystery Gender (or MG) lying across the seats on the train. there was a woman sitting in the seat closest to MG's feet. i didn't think they were together. and then I looked over maybe ten minutes later and MG was snuggled into the woman's shoulder. then I thought they were together - but the woman just had this "oh new york!" grin on her face.
we hit columbus circle and the woman needed to get up. she tapped the mystery gender stranger and then smiled so big as she walked away and just looked at everyone and shrugged her shoulders like "what are ya gonna do?!" MG and i ride on. i get tears in my eyes thinking about how beautiful it is to sacrifice something so seemingly trivial as personal space on your morning commute.
maybe MG doesn't have a job. maybe MG pulled a double and can't even sit up. maybe MG is an alcoholic or druggie and the train is the warmest and comfiest place he/she can sleep. maybe MG was passed out and physically exhausted from lack of relationships. or maybe physical touch is MG's love language and no one is around to feed that, so a random stranger willing to sacrifice the bubble provided a need. regardless of why the need was there, MG was provided for. and once again the magic of this city had me weak at the knees.
what would happen if we all leaned into the needs of others, even if it made us extremely uncomfortable? the entire world would look dramatically different if we made some not-so-dramatic changes. small, tiny changes. the kind that kill our desire for self and promote the joy that overcomes us when we do something kind for someone else. when we consider the needs of the person next to us, when we make the decision to not get angry over something that, let's face it, is just not that big of a deal - we look like Jesus.
and that's a good look.
we hit columbus circle and the woman needed to get up. she tapped the mystery gender stranger and then smiled so big as she walked away and just looked at everyone and shrugged her shoulders like "what are ya gonna do?!" MG and i ride on. i get tears in my eyes thinking about how beautiful it is to sacrifice something so seemingly trivial as personal space on your morning commute.
maybe MG doesn't have a job. maybe MG pulled a double and can't even sit up. maybe MG is an alcoholic or druggie and the train is the warmest and comfiest place he/she can sleep. maybe MG was passed out and physically exhausted from lack of relationships. or maybe physical touch is MG's love language and no one is around to feed that, so a random stranger willing to sacrifice the bubble provided a need. regardless of why the need was there, MG was provided for. and once again the magic of this city had me weak at the knees.
what would happen if we all leaned into the needs of others, even if it made us extremely uncomfortable? the entire world would look dramatically different if we made some not-so-dramatic changes. small, tiny changes. the kind that kill our desire for self and promote the joy that overcomes us when we do something kind for someone else. when we consider the needs of the person next to us, when we make the decision to not get angry over something that, let's face it, is just not that big of a deal - we look like Jesus.
and that's a good look.
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