An Old Man’s Karma Train

“One hot chocolate, one latte with two sugars and one cappuccino with one sugar, please” I made an order as my friends and I arrived in Healesville, half-way to the Lake Mountain trip this time.

“No worries,” said the waitress.

“Excuse me,” I asked the waitress, “do you know the way to the zoo?”

“Errr, I’m not really sure. I’m not good at direction, she replied, a bit shy, while doing our orders using the coffee machine.

“Oh, that’s alright. We’re actually heading to Lake Mountain. But, I remember this area has a zoo as one of the three nature conservations in Victoria,” I added.

“So, we thought if it’s not too far, we could go there for a couple of minutes,” I smiled.

“Oh, I wish I could tell you,” she replied, feeling guilty.

“Not really a problem, it’s alright,” Ben, my friend tried to soothe her.

Suddenly, a man, around 60 years old, approached us and said, “It’s not far. In front, you just turn right and follow the road. The sanctuary will be about 10 minutes from here.”

“Oh, thank you,” Ben and I replied, a bit surprised by his sudden coming.

Frankly, we didn’t expect him to come and helped us with the direction to the zoo as we’ve seen him reading a newspaper at the corner while having his coffee and a toasted banana bread.

When our orders were ready, we went out and had our hot drinks outside the cafe. A couple of minutes, that man came out and smiled.

“Hello again, I know you’re heading to the mountain, but if you still want to visit the sanctuary, just follow this map,” he told us, showing his iPhone with a map application already on the screen.

Using that application, we could see where we were, where to go, and how far would that be. It’s pretty understandable as we also use map or navigation (GPS) application in our gadgets as well.

“Oh, thank you very much,” we happily replied to his kind help.

This is not the first time for me having a complete stranger offering sincere helps. I know it happens for a reason.

Using a quote from Steven, a Greek guy from DHL company, who picks up packages from a warehouse where I work, I can say that this illustrated karma; a karma train (or bus) that would hit you one time – present or future. Even though a hit by train or bus is normally associated with injury or loss, I believe this encounter with the old man earlier is a ‘good’ hit. To help and be helped. This is a very basic value in life.

This post has been published earlier at my blog. I am happy to share this. Please feel free to reblog or share the link, all with my accreditation. Thank you.