Kind Stranger

At best you’ll get one hundred years,
or maybe just a few more.
How many of yours are gone?

You could die suddenly any day,
and none of your mistakes
could be rectified ever again.

Others will remember mostly
the ways you treated them,
and how you viewed the world.

Do not fill your short life
with hatred, bitterness, and judgment,
or all memory of you will soon be lost.

You cannot truly love the world
if you do not love yourself;
if you do not, then learn why and change it.

Leave a lasting impression,
not a last word in an argument
for arguments do not have winners.

Be the reason somebody lives
instead of the reason they hate life;
even your enemies were innocent once.

Accept your weaknesses and failures,
learn from them and improve;
excuses weigh you down and hold you back.

Before judging someone else
think of an equivalent failure of your own
and reassess your righteous scrutiny.

Talk to those you disagree with
and learn more about an opposing view,
even though the echo chamber sounds best.

You know the feeling when a stranger
does something so kind it makes your day?
Be the kind stranger in someone else’s story.

Remember to let yourself feel.
Remember to let others be.
Remember before it’s too late.