More Tales from the CTA

+JMJ+

Forget about long day, this has been a long week. Generally I try my best each day to be joyful, no matter how challenging things become. This week was filled with craziness at work, late nights and tough reality checks, and today I found myself in a very un-joyful demeanor.

Thankfully, a little time on a city bus can cure lack-of-joy, if you are open to the remedy. As I piled onto the already crowded express bus this afternoon, I juggled a saddle bag, my laptop case and large box of "fine quality cotton paper."

I notice it was going to be challenging to maintain this balancing act for 15 minutes, especially since I didn't get a seat. Soon we were all sardining ourselves into the middle third of the bus, and I ended up in front of an elderly woman. She was doing a crossword puzzle.

"Is that box heavy?" She asked me...."No, not really." I said. Then she said, "Why don't you just let me hold it on my lap for you, that way at least you'll be free to hold on." And that was just an offer I couldn't say no to.

Her act of kindness was followed by the woman sitting beside her. This lady happened to get off at the very next stop, and motioned that I should take her seat. So there I sat, bags and box in place.

It is so easy to overlook things like this, but really, what a gift those two women were to me! Not only did they care for me in a specific, disinterested way, but they also reminded me that we are at all times to serve one another. Serving doesn't have to be complicated, because true service is rooted in love.