I’ll tell you how it works for us dogs. Friends are those whoever we share a friendly time with at any given moment. This weekend during our morning walk we met Doña, a Dachshund girl, very timid and sweet. I don’t know whether we will meet again but if I do see her again for sure I’ll think: “there goes my friend Doña.”

This got me thinking about how you, humans, deal with strangers. For you, a stranger is nothing like a friend, whereas I think there’s just one degree of separation between a friend and a stranger. Doña was a stranger to me right before we sniffed each other, but after that she became my friend. In the same way, your best friend was a stranger to you right before you met. One encounter is all it takes, the rest is development.

Boboni with some wooden birds commenting about their feathers

 

As a result of this conceptual difference, in your world you don’t rely on strangers ever. You only want to share your time with your friends and family. You expect your family or your friends to come to the rescue when problems gloom your sunny path. What if they are unavailable at that very moment when you need them? It could happen and you can’t blame them. Then what if a stranger rises to the challenge of being there for you?

Sometimes strangers are more available to help because, by chance, they are physically where you are when you need help. On the other hand, a stranger could easily get away with not helping. I am sure you’ve met a few unkind strangers in your life. But when a stranger does help, they do it with remarkable generosity and selfless motivation, which is quite gratifying. I am not sure why.

It’s good to have good friends and it’s also good to have good strangers around you.

Be a good stranger!

Your friend,

Felipe

Ps: I’d love to hear your experiences with strangers and as strangers yourselves! Have you ever offered your help to someone you didn’t know? Has a stranger ever helped you? Have you seen each other again?