On my way to work today, riding the F train, I was reading [i]American Psycho[/i] by Bret Easton Ellis. I?m about a third of the way through, and at this point in the novel lead character Patrick Bateman (played by Christian Bale in the movie version) is getting particularly gruesome. He?s just done some very evil things to a homeless person, all between rants about the merits of the Genesis catalog of music and which restaurant is most trendy, and therefore worthwhile of his attentions.
AnOn my way to work today, riding the F train, I was reading [i]American Psycho[/i] by Bret Easton Ellis. I?m about a third of the way through, and at this point in the novel lead character Patrick Bateman (played by Christian Bale in the movie version) is getting particularly gruesome. He?s just done some very evil things to a homeless person, all between rants about the merits of the Genesis catalog of music and which restaurant is most trendy, and therefore worthwhile of his attentions.
And then a young guy came up to me on the subway, probably in his early 20s, asking if the train we were on would get him to 28th street. I assured him that it would, that he could get off at the 34th street stop at Herald Square, and then walk from there. He was very polite, and thanked me.
A few minutes later, when the train stopped and we both were getting up, he thanked me again. As before, he was polite and sincere. And when we exited onto the platform, he started walking toward the 35th street exit, so I let him know that he actually wanted to go the other way. He turned around, and thanked me yet again.
I know this wasn?t a monumental exchange, but it made me feel good. In just a very small way I made someone?s life just a tiny bit better. He got something out of it, and I got to feel good about myself for a minute. It didn?t solve any of my problems or give me a grand revelation, but it reminded me of the little joys we can get out of the smallest exchanges, and that a lot of little moments add up over time.
As my hero Zig Ziglar says, the world is ultimately changed by the small words and acts that accompany our daily interactions with others.
So this was my good deed for the day. It may have been small, but in it?s own way, it felt big.
