Strangers; Friends You Just Haven't Met Yet

At the five mile turnaround point during our run along the Little Miami River Trail my friend Colleen bent over abruptly putting her hand on her knee. After making our way up a steep hill she felt a sharp pain from her IT band.

A few other people on the trail noticed Colleen’s discomfort and started up a conversation with us. The people eventually suggested some stretches for Colleen to try. A few minutes later we began assessing our situation. Do we try to make the five-mile run back to my car? I had Colleen run 50 feet to see how she could handle it. I watched her run slightly crooked as she limbed.

Now we were in need of someone to drive us to my car. I asked the lady who was stretching beside us. “Certainly! I was wondering if you were going to try to run the rest of the way,” she said.

We were only with the woman for ten minutes, but in that time I learned that she has a 17-year-old daughter and two twin boys. They were all going to go boating later that afternoon. She had just gone on a trip to Vegas. When she was my age she got into cycling and road across the country for two months. I learned all of this about her yet we never exchanged names.

Growing up we are instructed never to talk to strangers. Just because we don’t know someone though, doesn’t mean they are bad or dangerous. If we choose to live our lives openly then we will be open to see the beauty that is in the world - just like the kind woman I met today.

#Spirituality #friendship #Lovethyneighbor