A gracious ride

Someone recently suggested to me that the hallmark of a good person is one who practices tactful public transport etiquette.

This is such an adept measure of human behaviour. It’s true: whenever I see someone on the bus who conducts themselves with grace and politeness, I feel I am instantly attracted to them, and not necessarily in a romantic sense (although that may sometimes be the case)! My affection comes from actively witnessing the kindness of the human spirit. 

In that regard the bus during peak hour can be a sacred place, however, like most things in life, it requires maintenance, constant refining, repetition and patience. Generally, it means adjusting your bag to accommodate a fellow bus mate, altering your posture to make space for another body when it takes a seat beside you, gesturing thanks to the person who needs to move for you so you can get off the bus. And of course, yes, you must be willing to press the button for someone when theirs doesn’t work, stand up for someone who needs to sit more than you, and acknowledge the driver when getting off your stop.

The beauty of this simple practice is that, once mastered, you can apply the behaviours to a thousand other small, daily acts. When running, for example, which I prefer to do in public spaces, I often find myself judging the character of a runner on whether they nod a hello, or smile an acknowledgement, or avoid the path by running on the grass for a moment to avoid slower pedestrians on the path. And while running may differ in the sense that many runners are focused on the path ahead, and smiling might seem strenuous, it goes a long way. Sometimes I find myself wondering whether I can pick out the same degree of what makes a person ‘good’ out at the Bay Run as easily as I can on the bus on the way to the city at eight in the morning.

Wouldn’t we be better placed in our cities if we followed these rules? And what if we carried these practices into our homes, our relationships and our work?

Think of the invisible, be courageous, practice the sacred, and love your humanity.