I was on my usual walk in the park when I was overtaken by a young male runner.
He stopped abruptly.
He proceeded to pick up what looked to me like a small twig.
I was startled by the suddenness of this interruption in the flow of our travel.
As I drew closer, I steadied my pace so as to avoid a collision, I noticed that he had picked up a worm.
I cautiously and hesitantly attempted to give him a wide berth as I am not fond of worms.
He proudly announced that the worm was out of it’s natural habitat and was struggling.
He was rescuing it from the harsh path where it was in danger of of being trampled.
He gently threw the worm into a bushy area.
As I continued with my walk, I wondered about the experience and the lonely journey of that worm.
Being out of place and exposed to the hard ground.
I reflected on how sometimes we can feel out of place, disorientated and disconnected.
The young runner was alert enough to spot the worm and, in an instant, demonstrated compassion and kindness.
In that moment this heroic deed encapsulated the importance of that worm.
I wonder about how we can be intentional toward our self and toward others.
I pondered on this quote attributed to Vivek Murthy, the 19th United States Surgeon General
‘Whilst loneliness has the potential to kill, connection has even more potential to heal’.