Finding Comfort in the Commonalities of Humanity

"How many people do you talk to on a regular basis? Is it time to expand your world a bit?" —Monica Wood, The Pocket Muse

Early Sunday mornings I pick up a copy of the New York Times before it sells out. After I return home and spread the newspaper across my kitchen table, the first section I flip to is the Metropolitan where I read the Metropolitan Diary column. The paper describes this column as “Reader tales from the city” and “a place for New Yorkers, past and present, to share odd fleeting memories,” although I’ve noticed the submissions aren’t only from residents but visitors as well.

Each tale offers a succinct glimpse into an interaction that made a lasting impression on the contributor. They reflect the simple things: a toll taker assisting a lost tourist; a stranger helping another cross the street; someone offering a spot in line; a driver stopping traffic while several people help a cyclist gather his spilled fruit; a cab driver going out of his way for his customer, toll free. Occasionally they expose an unkindly nature, but more often than not, they reveal the general goodwill common in humankind.