I was on the T today...

Going towards Cambridge.. snoozing.. happily.. and I woke myself up. Not snoring tho.. it was a sneeze. Two or three ppl chuckled..

Last night a sweet old man came in the wagon, a little intoxicated. He sat down beside me and asked me how my day was. Again (second time I do this in a month! ugh), trying to be positive, I smiled and said "..Good.. good..." --completely overlooking that his day must have not been that great. "How was yours?"
"Oh.. some parts of it were good.. some not so much"
I thought about a little quarrel I had with a professor that morning. "Yeah, that's the way it usually goes"
I dozed off for a little bit... day dreaming.. and then he tapped me on the shoulder to get my attention again "I'm happy that you're happy." That's when my mistake hit me. "It makes me happy to know other people are happy"
OMG.. Im so stupid..
I looked at him, meaning to say Im sorry. But all that came out, after a bit of a pause, was "Thank you." He smiled at me.. ear to ear. I was also smiling, but I was still embarrassed.

He got off at South Station. "Weell.. you have a nice day, young lady " He said...
"Yes, you too, sir.."
He fell on his way out, and a young man jumped out of his seat and asked him if he was alright and helped him up. The man said a heartfelt "Please excuse me.." and continued on his way out...
... and I came out of that train, twenty min after that, wondering if I would have felt the way I felt if he hadn't been a grandfather figure... if he hadn't been so lovable...

I learned the Bible verse when I was a child "Love your neighbor as yourself." Such a simple, beautiful principle. The basis of Christianity. And yet I still have some trouble loving a specific type of people. And even those whose life of loss or oppression or limited options I feel I can relate better to... sometimes I talk to insensitively.. I thought Id learned that lesson a while ago... Sometimes people dont need to know how great your day was.. especially if it wasnt that great to begin with... sigh..

But there it is.. I am amazed, amazed at how lessons come to me in the places where I less expect them.. hehe.. the T...