Wherever you are at in life, there is someone else who would give anything to be in your shoes.

Today when I was pumping gas before I went to the grocery store, I saw a relatively unkempt looking man about age 35 in front of the store.

He walked up to another person pumping gas an aisle down, asking about the direction of an area he needed to go to. The person simply ignored him and quickly got in their car. He proceeded to ask two other people nearby the same question, who also didn’t even regard him or acknowledge him.

Then, he came to me & I told him the area he was trying to get to was pretty far away & would be tough to reach without a car. He asked where I was going, & I told him it was to an area of town south which was the opposite direction. After I told him that, he asked if I could give him a ride to another gas station in the direction I was going. I took a moment to think about it because of course there are always risks you must think about when letting strangers in your vicinity.

By the way he spoke he had the aura of man that’s been broken down & defeated, but also had a genuine feel to his words. I have a pretty good sense for reading people and could tell this man wasn’t having the best luck in life.

I felt bad that everyone was treating him so poorly and agreed to give him a ride. During the drive I was making small talk & he told me he just got out of prison after 5 years a few weeks ago. He was arrested for having a little over an ounce of marijuana on him one night when a cop pulled him over for speeding in a state where it was very illegal.

Since he got out he was basically thrown out on the street with whatever stuff he had before he went in, & said it’s been impossible to find work or a way to make money & get back on his feet since. Didn’t have any family either.

When we got there and he got out I wished him the best and to keep his head up, then gave him the $20 I had in my wallet. He was extremely grateful and said I was the first person to help him out in days.

It was a brief interaction, but I really felt for the guy. I don’t know what he had planned for his life but I highly doubt he saw himself ending up where he is. I just wanted to share this with someone and hopefully it can help you feel gratitude for the things you do have in your life, rather than focusing on the things you don’t. And be kind to your fellow man when the opportunity arises, you don’t know the struggles they’ve faced or may be facing.