It was an ordinary evening. A nice evening. Jackson and I were on our nightly walk through a neighborhood that’s close by us.
We’re most often the only ones out. (This is another entire post in and of itself!) But on this particular evening, we saw a man approaching us from up ahead. I shortened Jackson’s retractable leash because he loves people and doesn’t understand that many folks don’t appreciate an unknown dog approaching them. Even if his bushy tail is wagging wildly with joy.
After I shortened the leash we moved to the far left side of the road so the gentleman could walk by us in peace. However, he instead crossed over in our direction. A quick “hi,” I said as I thought we’d both keep walking.
“Hi!” he said, “puppy!” He approached us and began petting Jackson, who was SO happy to be acknowledged by this very rough looking man. The man said the word “puppy” another time or two, in the happiest of tones. As Jackson was wagging his tail and happily soaking up this man’s affection, the man said- as if to reassure himself, “see, everyone doesn’t hate me.” And with that he seemed to feel okay proceeding on with his walk. “Enjoy your evening,” I said and smiled.
“You too.” And we parted ways, continuing on our respective walks.
As Jackson and I continued walking, I felt my heart sink. I stopped and looked back at the man as he made his way down the street. “I don’t hate you,” I said under my breath. I wondered why I didn’t say anything to the man. There were plenty of kind words I could have offered. But instead I stood silently in awe and smiling at how much joy and love Jackson was bringing to this man, just by being happy to see him.
Jackson probably did more in those moments than words from a stranger and fellow human could have done for that man anyway.
Anyway, in closing, this encounter was a reminder for me that we never know what someone is going through. We’re all fighting battles that nobody knows anything about. Always be kind.
Listening to Go Light Your World by Chris Rice
