How to save a life

Have you ever experienced kindness from a stranger, no strings attached, nothing expected or hoped for in return; simply kindness for the sake of kindness?

I had this experience recently when I met a young woman outside a tea shop downtown Chattanooga; we talked for a few minutes and exchanged numbers. On my way to Michigan she invited me to coffee and she had put together a travel bag with essentials for my trip to India in it. She wrote a letter to explain what was in the package and included a bracelet to pass on to another traveler after I returned.

I barely knew her but she touched my life and my heart in a way that she will never know. My perspective of love has been very limited, I believe in conditional love and kindness, the type I have to earn. This brief encounter encouraged me to reevaluate my beliefs; she gently reminded me of all the love available in this world and that I am not alone.

Be kind today, a smile could be all it takes to save a life.