This week I was reminded of that during my morning run in Shepparton when I crossed paths with another jogger who went out of his way to say: “Good running, keep it up”.
He was lying.
Last year I decided to hang up the sneakers and only just started pounding the pavement again, so it’s safe to say my pace has been closer to a snail than my usual turtle waddle and, truth be told, he probably should have said “good fast walking”.
But that didn’t matter because as soon as he said the words, I smiled, thanked him and started running just a fraction faster than I was.
I know this man didn’t say what he said because he was impressed with how fast I was running. He said it to be kind and encouraging. And it helped because I managed to clock up more kilometers this week than I have in any other week for about seven months.
It also reminded me how many times strangers have come to my aid.
In my first year of school I jammed my finger in a door so badly it became my first memory of pain.
A young girl a few years older than me, who I had never met, sat with me on a table and looked after me until my older brother arrived.
I never had a chance to thank her.
A few years later I finally convinced my parents I was old enough to take my adult Siberian husky on a walk on my own. They were reluctant but agreed.
So when that same dog decided to drop to ground in the middle of the road, refusing to go home, and I wasn’t strong enough to move her; holding the lead while standing in the centre of a busy road, I panicked. That was until a stranger driving past pulled over and held my dog long enough for me to run back home to Dad, who eventually came to the rescue and insisted that it was in fact time for her (and me), to go home.
Then there was my fleeting moment of rebellion. I was on the school bus and – with my brother home, sick – I decided to step into his shoes and throw a muesli bar down the aisle when someone told me to. How stupid of me.
But not even my wildest dreams could have imagined the bus driver would pull over and yell, “Whoever did that, stand up right now”.
I hung my head in shame and prepared my shaking legs. But it wasn’t needed because a high school boy sensed my cowardice and stood up instead. He had to sit at the front for the rest of the school drop-off.
I never understood why he took the blame but I never upset the bus driver again.
These are only the memories that come to mind but there would be so many more that don't. It's a reminder that sometimes when you need it most, there will be someone just around the corner waiting to help.
And that's enough to make me feel pretty good inside.
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