They were sitting outside the local Safeway, mostly likely there to spread a religious or political message, while I lugged the bottles back and forth to my van.  Once I was finished, one of them spoke up asking if he could “borrow my muscles” to which I laughed and told him “They probably won’t do you much good.”  I’m a talker by nature, and I enjoy conversations with the older generation, so we had a brief conversation.

I realized this is something I like about myself, that I will stop and talk to random people throughout my day.  Many times it starts with me thanking a Veteran for their service, and they share a bit about their experience.  Sometimes it’s a mother of young children, I can see how tired and overwhelmed she is, and I offer up “You are doing a great job” because I know that the times strangers said it to me, it was always perfectly timed.

I could tell you that I do it for others, that it’s my random act of kindness to take a few minutes out of my day to listen to a stranger.  I’ll be perfectly honest and tell you that I do it selfishly.  I do it because it feels good.  That brief encounter where I learn something new about a total stranger, it’s a powerful moment.  It fills me up with a crazy energy that can power me through my day, sometimes longer.  It’s like they just served me up 20 cups of coffee and I’m off to the races!  

Even for those selfish reasons, I like myself when I talk to strangers.

And if they had a water bottle to fill, I would gladly have shared my muscles.