What a nice thing to say!

Sometimes the best thing in the world is the kindness of strangers. Back in 2020, when I was in the psych facility, I found I could feel much better just by talking with other people. I'm introverted, but pain - emotional as well as physical - can be quite a motivator. One evening there was just one person, besides me, in the TV room. He was a young man, young enough to be my son. I didn't think we'ld have a lot in common, but I forced myself to try and be sociable.

He was very nice to talk with. He was homeless. I had worked as a nurse briefly at an agency that helped the homeless. I knew a lot about the resources for that population in my city. I recommended a place to him that he didn't know about. The next day he saw me in the med line. He came over and hugged me and introduced me to some others that he had gotten friendly with. Sometimes, when there was nothing going on, I would just walk up and down a long hall for some exercise. He would ask to walk along with me and he was nice company. He told me he had just gotten out of prison. He said very encouraging things to me. He had a serious medical issue. I told him about a shelter that gave strong support to homeless men with serious health issues, and I explained how he could get referred there. I think we both benefitted from talking to each other. But I almost might never have struck up a chat with him. I only did because I was desperate not to just sit silently by myself. Sitting silently would lead to my grief taking over my mind, which was awful.

My whole problem now is that I'm alone too much.