Why do we live in an age where it is odd for one person to help out another person if they don't know them? This question occurred to me on the bus to work this morning when I watched an awkward but enticing social transaction occur between two people over a dropped Vaseline.
The bus was tightly packed as it always is at morning rush but I had been lucky and managed to get a seat. There were people standing up all around me and a girl dropped her Vaseline as she was getting something else out of her coat pocket. A look of frustration flickered across her face and I could sympathise, because there was no dignified way she could pick it up. I myself quickly decided there no way I could help I mean I was sitting down and I wasn't about to give that up to get it for her. I'm sure everyone else in the vicinity had had similar conversations with themselves and so we all just looked from her to the Vaseline and back again sharing in the awkward situation. Just as the awkwardness was becoming to much to bare a boy standing in front of me (he was no older than 14) bent down and picked up the pot and handed it to her.
I know this story is very insignificant as well as more importantly incredibly mudane... watching this situation unfold made me think. Why is it that it has been so difficult for strangers to put themselves out to help other strangers? I mean I even felt self righteous when I stepped off that bus because I said thank you to the bus driver, who had allowed for me to get to work on time. Since when has saying thank you to someone who deserves it become unnecessary?
I am now reminded of a conversation I was having at work last week about community. How in the UK at least, in this culture any feeling of community has been lost. We no longer have a close relation our neighbours. I live in an apartment building with three other flats within the close vicinity of me. I could tell you the name only one of the people who live in them....It's Janice by the way. I feel embarrassed that the only reason I know this is because she accepted a parcel for us once and Yodel informed me that 'Janice from No 2 has signed for your package' Yodel told me my neighbour name! Thanks Yodel!
It's crazy, we don't know eachother, we no longer have those people who live close to you, who you can rely on to look after your house/pet when you're on holiday, or who mows your lawn for you because they are doing theirs. Everyone is too wrapped up in their own lives to think about the person next door. We need more people who say thank you to bus drivers or who go out and clear pathways for the elderly people who live in their street.
In the next week I'm going to try think about this and communicate more, be kind and take an interest join me and drop a comment on below letting me know what happened, maybe you witnessed an exchange similar to mine and you interpreted it differently because of this blog post or have your own thoughts on this topic?