a little kindness in the daffodils

They say that cities are cold. Not temperature cold, but emotionally distant and uncaring. For the most part in London I've found that that is true as with DC or New York or any other major metropolitan area. You don't say 'Bless you' when the man next to you sneezes. You don't pick up the lady's paper when she drops it. And under no circumstances should you look at people as you walk past them on the street.

Today was a warm day. In a city usually populated by black trench coats, black umbrellas and black clicky heels, there were sunny colorful skirts, ties and coatless backs. And with the rising outdoor temperature today came a warm spell of friendliness.

Today, sitting in the sun in Trafalgar Square at lunch time, I was taken aback by how many people were sitting on the low walls eating lunch with friends, chatting, talking about the school children who walked by and the lady in red who sings opera to a boom box. I was astonished when, as I was getting off the tube at Warwick Avenue, my home, a lady walked past me, head up, listening to her iPod smiling. She looked me right in the eye and grinned. I, slightly stunned, tilted my head and smiled back, meeting her gaze and sharing a moment with a complete stranger.

Spring brings a sense of life to this city that I have not yet experienced. The appreciation for the world that the woman and I shared today on Clifton Garden Road is something that I had not yet noticed could happen in a place where 7 million people run around each day with their own agenda.

It seems to me that with daffodils subtle kindness is not far behind.