Random Acts of Kindness

Unfortunately, I won't be able to include any photos in this blog post because the computer I'm on is older and does not have an SD card slot...sadface :-( I promise that I will post some good photos in my next post!


I want to share a story about one of my days on the Isle of Skye, Scotland. Skye is an island off the west coast and is part of what is called the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. the scenery is literally breathtakingly beautiful. No matter which way I turned, I felt like I was in a painting. That's pretty much the only way I can think to describe the landscape on Skye. The pictures I post will never do it justice. The island itself is only about 130 miles long and 7 to 25 miles wide so you can cover the ground in only a day or two, but if you ever get the chance to visit, I suggest renting a car and just...driving. You will not be disappointed. 

Before starting my story, I must also take a moment to share that before arriving on Skye, I took a detour to the little town of Dornie, to view Eilean Donan Castle. I have discovered that castles are one of my favorite things, and this particular castle was by far at the tope of my list. It is very famous and was even featured in several movies ('Entrapment' being one of the more recent ones). The land on which Eilean Donan sits is plush and insanely green; the rain and fog that lingered on the day I visited just made the ambiance more mysterious and magical. Just typing all this makes me so sad that I can't share photos with you, but rest assured I will as soon as I can. 


So back to my story...


After arriving in Skye and meeting a few of the other hostelers, I made friends with Brodie, from New Zealand (!!!), haha y'all know how I love New Zealand. I learned that Brodie worked for the forest service there, and basically hikes for a living, so I somehow convinced him to be my hiking mate for the following day -- there were some scenic overlooks I had read about that I wanted to try and find. We met in the reception area around 10 the following morning and set out for the day. Upon arriving at Tourist Information, we learned that we had missed the first bus to the northern part of the island and the next bus didn't come for almost 3 hours (apparently buses run rather infrequently on remote islands). Not wanting to wait for the next bus, we decided to start walking toward the area we were trying to get to, which was 15km away (just over 9 miles). We knew we wouldn't be able to make it the whole way, but we figured we could either hitchhike or catch the bus whenever it actually came by us, if we hadn't found a ride by then. Now, before y'all start hyperventilating because I said the word "hitchhike," let me just say that the lady at Tourist Information SUGGESTED that we hitch. Hitching is very common in Scotland, mainly because there is so much open land I think, but either way it is a common way to travel and is much safer than the wacko truckers in the desert you are probably imagining. Further, on an Island with less than 5 gas stations and a population under 10,000, the biggest crime concern is neighbors stealing oil from your oil drums for heat in the winter, coupled with the number of tourists, and the fact that there is only one way on or off the island (unless you pay for the ferry) it's really one of the safest places I will go on this journey. 


So off we went, up the A855 highway toward Staffin, where our destination lay. Walking through that scenery was just indescribable, the lush green foliage, the rocky cliffs, the sheep and cows that walk right up next to you...it really was like a dream. We got just over 2 miles out of town when it started getting windy and looking like rain, so we decided to try hitching. Neither me nor Brodie had ever hitched before so I don't think either of us was really sure what we were doing, and I think that must have been consensus of the cars that whizzed past us and our outstretched thumbs. FAIL. But not completely. Just a little more ways up the road, and finally this little red car pulled over and a girl my age got out to take photos of the view arising over the crest of the upcoming hill just ahead of us, know as "The Old Man of Storr" (again, pictures will follow). We asked her if she knew how far the next town was. She stated that she didn't know for sure, but that she and her boyfriend would be happy to give us a ride if we wanted. We took her up on her offer, and that is how we met Anna and Duncan, from South Africa! They were also on holiday in Scotland, and had come to Skye for the day just to cruise along the coastline and take pictures of its beauty. We ended up spending the entire afternoon with them, driving all the way around the northern most tip of the island, stopping to take pictures of the land and getting to know each other. Anna and Duncan are wonderful people to know; it was a great unexpected addition to the day, and they were really very selfless for sharing their day and allowing us to tag along for the better part of the afternoon. I truly enjoyed being in such good company with new friends.


When they had to start thinking about driving back to the mainland, Anna and Duncan dropped us off in the town of Uig (pronounced "ooo-ig"), where we planned to catch the bus. The rain had finally caught up with the 4 of us at the isle of Skye museum about 30 minutes back, so after being dropped off, Brodie and I stopped in a cafe for a cup of tea before our bus arrived -- we had another hour wait for our infrequent bus ;-) ...it was really beginning to look threatening outside in addition to being quite chilly. I was wearing everything I had brought with me for the hike, which included tie dye pants, my brother's flannel shirt, a striped scarf, and a wildly pattern Scottish wool cap...yep, I was STYLIN' ...seriously can't wait for y'all to see THAT picture! :-)

When that bus arrived, the driver told us that his bus was the "long bus" and was going the long way back to Portree which would have cost us double, but that the other bus going in our direction would be along in just over an hour. Being solo travellers on a budget, we decided to wait it out. Of course, the minute we made this decision and the bus pulled off, it started pouring down rain. I was okay for the first 10 minutes or so, but then I was just wet, cold, and shivering. I was trying so hard not to complain but it was just so miserable out, and if you know me, you know I am always cold, so this was almost torture! Haha. Just as we stood up and started pacing the pavement to keep warm (about 25 minutes into our wait), we heard someone calling out to us. We turned around and it was the woman who lived just across the street from the bus station. She was outside smoking a cigarette and asked us if we've like to stand in her garage where we would have a clear view of the bus stop but still be sheltered from the weather. Not really believing that this was for real, we agreed and traipsed our soaked selves up the small hill to her garage. The lady's name was Kath and she shared with us that she was originally from England and that she and her partner had just moved into the house (which is actually Uig's old police station) about 2 weeks prior. Just then, Kath's partner, Heather, came out of the house with a tray of coffee and 2 mugs. After talking with Brodie on the bus later, we had both been thinking the same thing: that we had intruded on their afternoon coffee time. But no, we hadn't. Heather was bringing the coffee out for us! An hour later, we were dry, warmer than before, full of coffee and good conversation, and on the bus back to Portree.


At this point I was so dumbfounded, and the more I thought about the recent series of events, the more incredulous I became. In only 4 days I had experienced some of the most random, selfless, and generous acts of kindness, all from complete strangers who had absolutely no reason in the world to help me. The Murrays in Forres offered their home to me, free of charge, so that I could relax, rest, do laundry, and finally get over my cold. Call me crazy, but I like to think Memom and Johnny (my late grandparents) had a little something to do with my meeting them, there's really no other explanation for that :-) ...Brodie, after only knowing me for 5 minutes offered to accompany me on a hike, not knowing how trained I was or whether I would be good company or the most sinfully boring (or annoying!) person he had ever committed to spending an afternoon with; Anna and Duncan had driven us around for 4 hours of sightseeing and picture taking, allowing us to enjoy and appreciate the beauty of the Isle of Skye alongside of them and not even considering the fact that we were imposing on their cozy afternoon together; and Kath and Heather had offered us shelter us from the terrible weather and even took the time to make us a snack while we waited. Even now, a week later, I am still trying to make sense of it. As a general rule, people don't welcome strangers into their home on a whim, hitchhiking or picking up hitchhikers is considered reckless and dangerous, and when random people are lingering outside our homes, we immediately assume that they must be up to no good. I understand it is a different culture here, but I found myself envious of this type of freedom. I use the word freedom because that's what I feel it is! Freedom to approach a stranger on the street and not worry that he/she might want to cause me harm, freedom to offer a helping hand or a ride to someone in need and not be concerned that they are going to take advantage of the situation. I feel like our society these days does not always allow us the freedom to be generous -- There must be something in it for us, we must have a motive behind our actions...what ever happened to just helping others for the sake of helping someone in need!? And not necessarily a stranger, but also the people and friends that we love and care for. We all have our own lives and our own agendas, but would it cost us too much to exercise a little more conscious effort and carry out a random good deed now and then? 


All I know is that these people who reached out to me really touched my soul with their selflessness. And I'd like to think that they helped me because they remembered a time when someone helped them. I may never see or speak to them again, but I will carry a piece of their generosity with me for the rest of my trip and hopefully the rest of my life. They were bright rays of sunshine to me, and I am forever grateful for their acts of altruism. To me, these are random acts of kindness that should be paid forward, and I fully intend to do that in honor of each of the people who extended their kindness and friendship to me. I don't know who or when, but I believe that when the moment to pay it forward arises, like Pat, Don, Anna, Duncan, Brodie, Kath, and Heather, I will just know...




"Through selfless service, eternal peace is obtained." --Sri Guru Granth Sahib