The Kindness of Strangers

by hanje53

Travel is said to be—at least potentially—educational.  Travel, ideally, offers a wider perspective than one can easily grasp from home.  Travel—and especially international travel—offers perspective by allowing one a view of the world (and, indeed, of one’s home) from a new vantage point.  And best of all, perhaps, international travel causes the traveler to feel vulnerable.

Why best of all?  Because in struggling with the simplest of tasks (making one’s way to a specific location; having the right identification or transportation ticket or means of payment at one’s disposal; checking in the correct direction before one crosses the street) I reach a new realization, in Unitarian Universalist terms, of my interdependence.  In literary terms, I can repeat the words of Blanche Dubois from Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire, with all conviction: “I have always depended upon the kindness of strangers.”  And bless those strangers–the couple on the streets of Amsterdam who pointed us toward our hotel the first night; the woman, Desiree, on the train from Kerkrade who walked us patiently and efficiently through our stops on a day when construction on the tracks had thrown the schedule and connections awry; the lady checking our passports in London who started out gruff and ended up smiling as she patiently explained the information she needed; and many others—bless those strangers who kindly offered help when we needed it.

And it makes me wonder how helpful I am when I am at home, walking through the streets of Bisbee—which has its share of tourists.  There is that syndrome of “locals” griping about “tourists” that I can sometimes mindlessly mimic, as if “tourist” was some kind of alien creature rather than a fellow human being.  And if tourists rely on the kindness of strangers (locals), it is also true that the Bisbee “locals” rely on tourists (spending money) to fund the basic services that we enjoy.

Though tourism itself may wane and transform as we face the depletion of fossil fuels and the realities of climate change, it is also true that we—if we’re paying attention—have a greater sense of our interdependence; our necessary reliance upon one another; our insecurity and vulnerability in the face of untamed life.  We are all travelers in the cosmos and we are all “locals” on this earth and we have always depended on the kindness of one another.