Breakfast with a stranger

11Aug
by Cherryl

An early start

That morning, I had breakfast with a stranger, not something that tends to happen often; maybe it happened because I was in the ‘friendlier north’ of the UK, where speaking to a stranger isn’t seen as being quite so weird.

“Sorry, I nearly sat in your seat” she said. We were both having a hot breakfast, I told her not to be silly, she could sit wherever she wanted, there was plenty of room for both us.

At around 8am the station was starting to get busy, a long queue of people lined up to buy the breakfasts they’d skipped on the way out of the front door – myself included. Announcements echoed through the station for various departures while anxious commuters grabbed their much needed coffee fix.

Opening Up

Now seated, she told me she’d survived cancer three times, and that she thanked God every morning for her life instead of stressing over little things that don’t really matter. “I’m all about positive attitude” she said “I might have bits of me missing but at least I haven’t got an arm or leg missing”.

I admired her spirit – for some, it’s not an easy one to accomplish.

She had a grateful heart and a cheerful outlook on life as she told me that she was on her way to take her mum on a seaside trip, and that she was very much looking forward to looking at the locally produced pottery in her chosen coastal town.

Blogger Christy B gives an interesting insight into the effects of gratitude on physical health and emotional wellbeing

We joked about our healthy and unhealthy breakfast choices – concluding that a little bit of what you fancy is good for you.

A full English Breakfast

She told me her father was 93 years old “my mum has cooked him a full english breakfast every day since they’ve been together, and she didn’t stop when doctors warned him about his high cholesterol” her mother had protested to the doctor when he told her to give her husband healthier meals.

93 years old, a ripe old age, they must have been doing something right all this time.

Our contact with others is powerful

So that was another one of my conversations with a stranger that left an inspiring imprint on my mind and has stayed with me to this day – she may never know it though, to her it was probably just a quick chat with one in a million random strangers!

We’ll never know the impact and impression we make on other people, every day, but lets try and make sure it’s a positive one.

I’d love to hear about any inspiring strangers you’ve met just once, by chance – feel free to share your stories below.

42 thoughts on “Breakfast with a stranger”

  2. Natalie Crossan

    Does this count? My Mum and I were walking through Bristol (we dont even live anywhere near Bristol), a guy dropped a can of beer whilst drunkenly cycling down the road and as she started chatting to him when he came off the bike, it transpired that they both came from the same town in Scotland and his brother was her childhood friend! How is that even possible?

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  4. Kim W

    #strangers Coming back from holiday, husband dropped hire car back and was ages. Sat outside in waiting area with people and started chatting to lovely young lad for about half an hour. Turns out he was waiting for his mates to arrive, they were going on a stag do, having hired a villa abroad in Mallorca where we’d been staying. Started showing me pictures on his phone of his friends and his job. Really passed the time so quickly. We were both wondering why husband had taken so long. Turns out he was supposed to fill the car up with petrol on way back and forgot because we gave a lift to a couple from the hotel. Luckily the hire place didn’t charge us extra as he was allowed to go and fill it up…

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  15. Craig White

    Borderline personalities are becoming to accepted, we have to learn from those individual’s who gain valuable knowledge from experience, inorder so we understand enough of what triggers personality suppression, then we Maybe able to create resolve and actually help struggling individual’s find solace within themselves, there true self and not some dulled down version of the person we once new.. 😊👍🙏💙

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    1. Cherryl

      Ha ha, that sounds like a very interesting conversation, hope he didn’t spill too many beans! 😊

      This reminds me of a woman I met on a beach in Barbados, she was selling tea towels and claimed to be an aunt of Rihanna (the superstar) – she said some people might criticise Rihanna, but she simply saw an opportunity and she took it!!! I guess the moral of that one was – grab opportunities when they come your way….🌴🔆

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