Image Source: POPSUGAR Photography / Bonnie Burke
Every now and then, a meaningful act of human kindness [1] has the ability to make me swallow my cynicism and smile through happy tears. Case in point: a story out of London about a young woman and a stranger's moving gesture on a train ride to Leeds. Ella Johannessen shared an experience she had on a recent trip, and the anecdote will remind you that sometimes it's the small things that make a true impact.
Ella was on the train speaking with her mom about how worried she was in regards to her finances. "I was rather stressed and upset over my financial situation and was trying to locate what had happened to £35 that had been sent to me over a bank transfer. I spoke to her about how little money I had, how worried I was about my finances and I got upset," she shared in a Facebook post [2].
A graduate of Leeds University, Ella told BBC [4] that she went into debt during her last year at school because she quit her part-time job to focus on her studies.
After getting off the phone with her mom, Ella fell asleep. She woke up to find a napkin on her lap, and inside of it was £100 (about $140 USD).
"I started to cry — this is because I was incredibly thankful for your kindness to someone you don't even know," she said in her post. "After a terrible 18 months where I lost my father and both of his parents it showed me that there is kindness and good people in the world."
She thanked the person who gave her the gift, and vowed to pass the kindness on. Read her full Facebook post ahead, and remember to show kindness [5] whenever you can. You never know what your simple gesture could mean to someone else!