How a Small Trip Changed My View on a Bigger Journey

It’s not in my nature to share my experiences of helping the less fortunate. I was always taught when giving alms, never let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Do it because you feel it’s the right thing to do. Not because you want to brag about it. My last experience made me look at life through a different lens. So I decided to share it with you guys.

I have poor time management skills ( not proud of this by the way ), so I spent all of my free time studying for another exam I had to take same day. I was unprepared for an exam and decided to just hand it in unfinished ( not proud of this either ). I always stop at a little fruit stand after I’m done with my classes. The fruit stand man, as I like to call him, convinced me to buy strawberries which I usually don’t buy from him. So I head home on the train with my bag of fruit.

Living in New York City and riding public transportation, you always come across someone who has some story about how they don’t have any money and please help me or whatever. I give what I can to people but this particular day a man comes on the train and looks badly injured. He gives his speech to the train car, saying he’s epileptic and he recently had a bad seizure in which he hurt his face. When I go to give him the dollar I had searched for in my bag I noticed he looked hungry. I offered him fruit and he accepted but asked for the softest thing I had because he hurt his teeth when he fell during the seizure. The softest thing I had were the strawberries I don’t usually buy.

When I got home, I sat down and I thought about the events of my day. If I had prepared for the exam and taken the test in its entirety, I wouldn’t have got to the fruit stand at the time I did and I wouldn’t have gotten on the train I rode home. Which means I wouldn’t have seen the man who needed the strawberries because he couldn’t eat solid food. I came up with the conclusion that you always where you’re supposed to be.

The next time you miss your train or you wake up late, don’t be upset about it. You are where you’re supposed to be. I’m not saying we don’t have control over our own lives because we do. What I’m saying is, if you don’t get that promotion you’ve been working for or anything else for that matter, don’t worry about it. You are where you’re supposed to be. Don’t rush through life feeling as if you’re missing out on things. When you have that mindset the only thing you miss out on is life itself. Remember it’s not about how long, but how well.