Would you expect a magical event to happen in a bus station in Thailand? It appears to be an unlikely place, but I guess the nature of miraculous events is that you never know when and where they happen. Most events in life fade from memory rather quickly, but then there are those moments that actually touch our souls, and even if they happened many years ago, they stay with us as if they had happened yesterday. It could have been the kindness of another person, a moment of real connection and happiness, a spectacular moment in nature, or some other magical moment. In this instance it was a spontaneous and totally selfless massage.
Several months earlier I had sprained my ankle very badly. It was one of those slow healing and painful injuries. While I was waiting for my bus, I was rubbing and moving and massaging my ankle. There was a Thai woman sitting next to me, she must have been in her fifties. She kept looking at my ankle and my efforts to work on it. After a while she stood up with a determined look in her face, went to a shop near the waiting area and purchased some tigerbalm.
She came back, grabbed my foot, put it on her lap, applied the cooling balm and started massaging it. She said something to me in Thai, but it was hopeless. She did not speak any English and in those days my Thai language skills were close to zero. So we just smiled at each other, the universal language. There is a good reason that Thailand is referred to as “the land of smiles”.
When her bus departure was announced, she smiled brightly and left, clearly happy that she had helped me. And I was deeply touched that a total stranger who could not even communicate with me gave me a spontaneous foot massage session in the terminal of a bus station. It was such a simple and heartfelt act of kindness, and it was a moment which I will always remember although it happened about 10 years ago.
Sometimes I wonder if this woman has any idea that her act of kindness gave me a memory that will stay with me for the rest of my life and that makes me feel good every time I think about it?
Does a Thai bus station look like a place where magical things occur? It appears to be an unlikely place, but I suppose the nature of miraculous events is that you simply never know when and where they happen. Some events in life are almost instantly forgotten, but there are some special moments that remain in our memory for the remainder of our life. It could have been the kindness of another person, an instant of real connection and happiness, a spectacular moment in nature, or some other magical moment. In this instance it was a spontaneous and totally selfless massage.
Several months earlier I had sprained my ankle very badly. The healing process took a long time and my ankle often caused me quite some pain. While I was waiting for my bus, I was rubbing and moving and massaging my ankle. There was a Thai woman sitting next to me, she must have been in her fifties. She kept glancing at my efforts with my ankle, and after a while she spontaneously stood up, went to a shop in the bus stationand bought some tigerbalm.
When she sat down next to me again, she just grabbed my foot and placed it in her lap. Then she started to massage my ankle with the cooling tigerbalm. She said something to me in Thai, but it was hopeless. She did not speak any English and in those days my Thai language skills were close to zero. So we just smiled at each other, the universal language. Thailand is called “the land of smiles”, and for a good reason.
After a while she had to catch her bus and left, smiling and happy that she had helped me, and I was just overwhelmed by the fact that a total stranger gave me a spontaneous foot massage in the waiting area of a bus station. Her simple act of selfless kindness touched me deep in my heart. It happened about ten years ago, but I still remember the moment as if it had been yesterday.
Sometimes I wonder if this woman has any idea that her act of kindness gave me a memory that will stay with me for the rest of my life and that makes me feel good every time I think about it?