The Kindness of Strangers (Lonely Planet Travel Literature)

by Don George

Our own happiness is inextricably bound up with the happiness of others. Similarly, if society suffers, we ourselves suffer. Nor is there any denying that the more our hearts and minds are afflicted with ill will, the more miserable we become.

If we live every day, whether at home or away, with kindness, if we approach the world with a sense of wonder and curiosity and appreciation, if we encounter others with respect and openness, if we see our human differences as enriching rather than threatening, we will go a long way toward creating a world graced, interlaced, with peace and opportunity.

If humanity learnt to gauge its every action by the simple criterion of kindness – always to ask if it is, on balance, the kindest thing to do? – the world would be much happier.

I had been travelling for so many months searching for something – hoping that the ever-changing landscapes, languages and people would give me a clue about my life, tell me what direction to go in next. But while I had discovered a great deal about my capacity for independence, and for handling whatever obstacles I encountered, I’d actually had no reliable signs or divine revelations. There was so much to appreciate and experience, but the signs I needed to follow actually came from within.

After having travelled for nine months, searching for a place or person to give my life meaning, I decided it was time to go home. It was time to become the person I was searching for in my travels, in all those signs.

The light slanted from the west, turning the dusty hills and air to gold. Somewhere in the distance a cow mooed. A wind chime tinkled. In the spaces between its notes was an immense, expansive silence.