The Experience That Changed Me
There's this random quote that always rings in my head, "they are no strangers in this world, they are just friends we haven't met yet". Thinking about it logically, I realized that as humans, we all have that soft spot in out hearts that triggers the emotional and sympathetic part of our being, no matter how strong-hearted we think we are.
For someone like me that went to a military school from childhood, I was trained in one of the most cruel ways you could think of, and at a point, I had the wrong mindset that it's normal for all humans to be heartless and violence towards one another.
Infact, when I graduated from military school I was very violent and cruel towards others, especially strangers because I thought we were all designed to defend ourselves against strangers in all circumstances. Back then I was violence towards every stranger I met, even before knowing them because I suspected that in one way or the other they might offend me in the future, lol.
But that all changed and my mindset was restored back to normal after a group of strangers saved me from what would have been the worst experience of my life. It was on this day that I realized that you can't give out what you don't have or what you have not received because from the day I received this love and generosity from this strangers, I became one of the most kind and peaceful person I know.
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It was a journey of more than 600km by road from my base (Cross River State, Nigeria) to Kaduna a faraway state in the Northern part of the country. The journey was a very long one and so there were no vehicles going straight to Kaduna from my base, which means I would have to board 2 more buses in 2 different locations to get to my destination.
The journey was moving smoothly until I boarded the last bus going from Abuja to Kaduna. Just few minutes into the journey, I realized that I wasn't feeling my phone or wallet in my pocket, and as I searched myself I discovered that both my phone and wallet had been stolen. I was laughing at first because I never wanted to believe my eyes, but the more I searched, the more reality kept dawning on me that my own was finished for that day.
I stood up in the bus and began to threaten them that no one was leaving this bus if I don't see my phone, but everyone was just looking at me like I was joking. Some people helped me to look for the phone and wallet, but to no avail. We tried calling my number but it had been switched off, and that was when I realized my phone and wallet might have been stolen in the park before the bus even moved.
There was no money on me and my ATM card was in my stolen wallet. This was my first trip to Kaduna and I was supposed to go to my uncle's place in Kaduna where I would spend the night and find my way around the city the next day. But now I can't even communicate with my uncle again, and he was expecting my call so that he could direct me to his house. If I had gotten his number offhand, it would have been easier but I didn't.
The bus got to Kaduna and everyone was coming down and preparing to go to their various destinations, but I came down, took my bag, and stood in front of the bus. You could imagine the level of frustration I was going through as I stood there stranded because at this point I don't even know where I would spend the night.
Just while I was still deep in my thoughts, one of the passengers tapped my shoulder and gave me lots of money. I couldn't believe my eyes, and he said that some of the passengers in the bus had contributed the money for me, and now they had all gone without even waiting for me to tell them "Thank you."
I had not even finished processing what just happened, when the man added that I could spend the night at his place. Ah, I couldn't contain my joy and excitement, because I never expected strangers to show this level of love and support to another stranger. This experience changed my mindset about strangers from negative to positive, and even till today I am still seeking to repay the favour I was shown on that day.
All images as used in this post are mine.
I appreciate your time around here❤️:-)
pob PIMP
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Oh my goodness 🤭🤭, this was a lot of kindness from strangers and also from the man that took you to his house to sleep over.
Initially, you had the wrong mindset that it's normal for all humans to be heartless and violence towards one another because of the kind of training you received in the military school and probably their attitude towards you
Strangers can be our saving grace...it's just good to have an open mind for people because we never can tell what can befall us in a minute
I am glad the people in the bus relieved you by contributing money for u
It was a big loss after all, losing ur phone, wallet and credit card.
However, I am curious about your meet up with your uncle since you had no access to his contact. How did you later meet with him?
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You are very correct dear friend, of a truth strangers can be our saving grace, I have learned alot more about life lately.
hehe, this is another long story on its own my dear, if I had added it here, this post would have been too long for readers, lol.
My uncle thought that maybe I might have been involved in a bus accident or robbery attack, so he went about various bus parks to make enquires the next day.
On the other hand, I located the nearest military barrack where I was fortunate to meet some of my regulars. I borrowed their phones and logged in my Facebook account where I started chatting my family members and telling them what had happened. I also got my uncle's number through Facebook and we communicated and finally met. It was really an experience my dear.
Wow... you took a smart move by visiting the Facebook to connect with your family and ur uncle
Such a life lesson learned
Thanks God for social media and other online platforms that help us connect to family and friends across the globe.
I really appreciate your lovely time and support here dearie ❤️
Your military training and general environment molded you into a tough soldier. Everyone might seems like a potential aggressor to you. It are very lucky that despite threatening the the other passengers when you realised that your wallet was stolen, that they pooled funds together for you. It is amazing that one gave you a place to stay overnight as well.
You story shows that strangers are not always a sign of potential danger. You were very lucky to be surrounded with kind-hearted people. A situation like this would have certainly change you and how you regard others.
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Yes oo, that's the most shocking part, even after my threats they still showed love, and that was what touched me the most. Sometimes strangers are more kind-hearted than people you even know (reality of life).
Whaoo. Just Whaoo. I could imagine the frustration. The fact that you don't have the number of your uncle is enough to put your mood down.
You were lucky to meet nice strangers on the bus cause some people won't care after the threat you made.
I'm glad you're safe. I wonder if I would be able to sleep at the stranger house. I would go but I would be on my guard all night🥶🥶🥶
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hehe, sleeping in that stranger's house didn't even scare me again because my heart had melted from the day's experience.
I moved from the highest level of frustration to becoming one of the the luckiest person on Earth that day, so I really had a change of mindset towards strangers.
Heheh😀😀😀😅😅😅
I can imagine. It was like God showing you his love
With your military training you will most likely see potential threats faster than most. However, as a soldier who is most often on high alert- you were robbed and did not notice for a while. This showed you that you are just as human as everyone else.
The best of human nature was expressed when the passengers helped you. I can imagine that this experience melted your heart and change your attitude towards others. Humans are social beings and it's more natural to help others than seeing them as a threat. I am happy that you had a positive and life enhancing experience.
You have made very valid points here friend. We all have that human nature in us no matter how strong-hearted we think we are.
I really learned alot from that experience.
I really appreciate your time and support here @momogrow. I would check out the Hivepakistan discord channel and see how I can add my little support to the great community.
This is quite intriguing, I can only imagine how you felt, I've ones been in that situation where I misplaced my money and didn't even have a phone to call for help.
It's good to see we've good people out there who still tried to help you despite threatening them initially.
That was one of the most surprising day of my life bro. Seeing people that still showed love even though they had a reason not to. Indeed they are still good people in this world.
Those people were very nice to you. Despite threatening them to provide your phone while in the bus, they went ahead and still offer assistance. That's kind of them. Were you able to locate your uncle later?
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I learned not to judge people before I even get to know them.
Yeah, I borrowed a phone and chatted him on Facebook before we finally met.
You were super lucky to have entered a bus with such amazing people inside, their act of kindness is commendable. And another beautiful part of their kind heart is that it changes you for the better.
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Yes oo my dear, I was really touched by their kindness and it has changed my mentality even till this day.
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Hello, @normalyf
I hear you. I too was indoctrinated in military institutions, but unlike you, perhaps because of my idealism for doing good, I was not very aggressive. My concept of good determined my character, putting the brakes on military conditioning.
Your experience is very encouraging and reaffirms my conviction to do good no matter who.
Thank you for sharing your encouraging experiences.
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That's right brother, keep doing good to others no matter who they are. I have gotten a better mindset towards others ever since I experienced that incident. Thanks for your time and support friend, I really appreciate.