You know, a lot of people are sceptical about Christmas. We buy gifts, eat food, get together with friends and family… And yet – how many of us really believe in the truest gifts of this particular holiday? How many of us really trust that when we really need it, human kindness and generosity, the most cherished of all qualities associated with Christmas, will actually be there? Well this Christmas, I do. I believe it because the other week, when a friend and I got stuck in the centre of town, in the middle of an extremely heavy and unexpected snowfall, we were rescued by human kindness. I use a wheelchair and the UK is notoriously unprepared for heavy snow. I also have poor circulation so within 20 minutes of being snowed on I looked like frosty the snowman on wheels and couldn’t feel my face. Everybody else was in town that night too because it was Christmas work party night for everyone in the city, creating an abundance of people and next to no taxis. All the buses were off. We were stranded, and freezing and struggling to get the wheelchair through the snow. We turned a corner, and suddenly, we bumped into this stranger, who insisted on walking with us. He helped us navigate my chair through the deep snow, gave me his hat and only coat and wore nothing but a thin shirt himself so I could stay warm during the 3 hours it took us to get home. He wouldn’t take his coat back even when I begged him to. Eventually we got home but we couldn’t have done it without him. I don’t know him and I may never meet him again, but that night, that stranger, who I found out was called Peter, confirmed my faith in human kindness. And for that I am extremely extremely grateful. 
Merry Christmas wherever you are Peter! Merry Christmas everyone!
written and posted by Nadia O'Connell
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