A stranger’s words at the traffic lights changed the course of Steve Askew’s life, he has said.
Askew was standing at the lights during rush hour when the man approached.
He had recently identified his cousin’s body after the man died in a terrible accident.
Askew was going through a divorce, the global financial crisis was underway and his company was struggling, making every day feel heavy with uncertainty and stress.
The stranger put his arm around Askew and said, “Everything is going to be OK.”
Askew burst into tears. By the time he had pulled himself together, the stranger had disappeared into the crowd.
Askew had been dwelling in victimhood but the stranger’s kindness gave him enough hope to make a change and turn his life around.
Soon after, Askew quit his job. He began travelling around the world, something he had been talking about doing with his cousin.
In Germany he met the woman who became his partner. The couple have three children and have built a happy and deeply fulfilling life together, a life Askew could never have imagined standing at those traffic lights all those years ago.
Askew said the stranger will probably never know the impact he had on him. But a few compassionate words, offered at exactly the right moment, altered the course of his life forever.
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