Walking in the park this morning with the dog, I started speaking to a lady I’d never met before. We exchanged pleasantries about the beautiful sunshine and how nice it was to be out.
From our two metre social distance, it took me a while to realise this lady was close to tears. She was finding it difficult to find anything to smile about. She talked of a friend with terminal cancer who she couldn’t support in the way she wanted to. We talked compassionately about those people around the world who are experiencing terrible consequences of the Coronavirus and the resultant lockdown.
As we chatted for a while longer, we shared snippets of our lives and we talked about the things we were grateful for. It’s the kind of conversation I have had with strangers many times. However, this time when I returned home, I received the following lovely message.
‘Dear Alison, How very lovely to see you and chat in the park! It has hugely lifted my spirits to share with you-thank you so much! Wishing you a happy day. x’
It made me think about the power we all have to make a difference to someone’s day and how important it is in the current climate of isolation and social distancing that we take the time to reach out (metaphorically) to others.
Challenging Times 
The power of a warm smile , a friendly greeting , listening – really listening , and kind reassuring words makes a disproportionately huge difference to a strangers day . Lucky lady to pass you xxx
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lovely xx
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What a lovely story, just a walk in the park and you have made a difference to this lady’s day. Xxx. 👏👏👏
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How lucky she was to meet you xx
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