We’ve all encountered kind strangers. From someone that sheltered us from the rain, picked up an object we dropped, or helped us with our groceries, such wholesome moments warm our hearts.
Two days ago, Singaporeans shared instances of such kindness on a thread on Reddit.
Shelter from the rain
A kind act can be as simple as being offered shelter from Singapore’s tempestuous weather.
Reddit user saltedfishies shared: “It was raining pretty badly and I needed to cross the road from my bus stop to the sheltered walkway. I was preparing to make the dash when this school girl offered to shelter me as we were going in the same direction.”
Another user, 0rangeflora, shared how a woman’s kind deed spurred her to do the same for others. “I was waiting at the traffic light while it was raining,” she wrote. While using my file to hide from the rain, a woman standing beside me offered to share her umbrella and we crossed the road together.
“I was so touched by it and I have done the same thing for another person. I hope it’ll start a chain reaction.”
Public transport heroes
Often, it’s the young ones who offer the elderly a seat on a crowded train. But for user Isares, it was the other way around.
Isares shared: “When I was in NS, I had to take the second train from Pasir Ris every morning to get to camp on time. For context, that train leaves at around 5:25am in the morning.”
The trip to his camp, SAFTI Military Institute, situated in Upper Jurong Road, took him about an hour every day.
Waking up at the crack of dawn and spending an hour on the train is, understandably, not a great experience. Thankfully, he crossed paths with an elderly man who helped make that daily experience a little less painful.
“An old man, who alighted at Outram Park, started reserving a corner seat for me every morning at one of those two seaters. He’d sit in the reserved seat, ‘chope’ (reserve) the other with his bag, and remove it when he saw me.
Isares explained that, although the trains were usually empty at that hour, “the corner seats are very nice for long distance sleeping.” He joked: “It provides somewhat adequate neck support”.
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He was later able to show his appreciation.
“When I finally ORDed I gave that guy a box of biscuits for helping me reclaim an hour of sleep every single day,” said Isares.
Honesty the best policy
We’ve all know how distressing misplacing our wallets, identity cards, or spare notes of cash can be.
Thankfully, there are kind Singaporeans out there who adhere to the saying, “honesty is the best policy”.
User thicctarik shared one such encounter. Two years ago, he dropped two $50 bills in front of the lift landing at his house.
He decided to check his neighbourhood’s Facebook group, but admitted he didn’t have high hopes. He explained: “With $100, you can treat yourself to a nice meal and a couple of drinks. Who wouldn’t want to take it?”
But thankfully, an honest neighbour found the two $50 bills and got in touch after verifying that the money was indeed his.
“He passed me the two $50 notes and I decided to show my gratitude by giving him a brand new Picard wallet that was a Christmas gift,” thicctarik wrote.
Simple acts of kindness
Or, as user cupcakefantasy shared, an act of kindness can be as simple as “holding the lift door open as they exit, to allow me to enter with my kids and barang” (things).
The comments on this thread are a wonderful reminder that no act of kindness is too small. By being kind, everything we do has more of an impact and impression on others than we may think.
How about doing something kind for a stranger today?