Have you ever had a completely random and unexpected interaction with a complete stranger? I'm not talking about a weird interaction when you're at the club and everyone is a little worse for wear. I mean the kind of simple interaction with another human that leaves you uplifted afterwards. I have — many times in fact. I should stop being completely surprised when these types of things happens to me because they seem to happen quite often.

Let me tell you the story.

I had just arrived in the parking garage of my office building at around 1:30 p.m. As I pulled into my spot and got out of my car, I saw a gentleman whom I have seen and passed dozens of times since he started working there.

He is a gentleman from the far east, and he works for the company that owns the office building I work in. He is something of a property manager. You can often spot him walking around the parking garage with a trash pin and something to scoop up bits of trash that its lackadaisical tenants leave behind or fixing something in the courtyard or manning the entrance booth to the garage.

Our interactions prior to this day were short but always pleasant. He is the kind of person who always gives you a warm and kind greeting every time your paths cross, something I always appreciate when I am going about my day. He is someone that is hard to miss if you work in the building, in the best way.

He was about three parking spots over from me when I exited my car.

"Hey, how are you today?" came his anticipated greeting.

"I'm doing well, how are you doing?" I replied.

I was expecting the normal response that is customarily acceptable within the bounds of social etiquette, "I'm doing well thanks," and then both parties go about their respective days. Our interaction turned out to be a break from the norm.

He walked up to me, the garbage grabber in one hand and the rolling trash bin in the other, and proceeded to tell me something.

"You know man, I feel really good today. I had this huge stressful burden lifted off my shoulders, and I just feel so much better."

He then proceeded to tell me that two weeks ago his mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, not exactly what I was expecting to hear on a random Friday afternoon. I put my hands in my pockets and listened attentively as he spoke. He proceeded to tell me she had just had a procedure done, they had removed all of the cancer, and how much better he felt knowing that she was okay.

I could see the authenticity in his eyes and hear the genuine relief in his voice as he told me this story. What he said next blew me away.

"You know, you're the first person I've actually told about my mother's diagnosis," he said to me when he finished his story.

I took a few seconds to process what he had just said to me.

He had just shared with me something that most would find deeply personal. Me — a complete stranger! Here I was, standing there in a suit with a messenger bag slung over my shoulder, my hands in the pocket of the vest I was wearing. He was wearing a polo shirt, slacks and sneakers. Two people that at first glance a random observer might think are from completely different walks of life.

But I have never found peace in such arrogance. Respect is something I believe should be shared universally, not selectively. It's something I live by and has never failed me in eyes of others, and more importantly, myself.

This isn't the first time something like this has happened to me. Ever since high school, I have had incredible human interactions like this with people who were otherwise strangers to me.

I remember one such experience I had in high school. I was on my way to class, and a girl I had never met before came up to me in the hallway. She was sobbing, and her voice trembled as she spoke to me. She knew my name. I came to find out much later that she had found out who I was by hearing about me from some mutual friends who apparently spoke quite highly of me. She asked me if I was who I was. I told her yes. She told me her name and asked me for help because she wanted to hurt herself and didn't know what to do. This occurred in school, on a random school day, in between some random class, in some random hallway with a complete stranger. I'm sure you can imagine how completely surprised I was when those words came tumbling out her mouth or that she thought I (again, complete strangers at this point) was someone who could help her in a time of an incredibly intimate personal crisis.

I did help that girl. We walked the halls alone together for quite some time and had a nice conversation. After a little while of just talking about ourselves, she began to relax. When she felt that she was ready, I helped her find someone who could help her in her time of need more than I could.

I have a few different life philosophies that I live by. First, to always smile at a stranger because you never know when someone needs it. Second, you never know the struggles others have gone through or are currently going through so be kind, always. Third, always try and leave someone better than you found them.

That last one can be done in a variety of ways. Sometimes a simple greeting and asking how someone is doing is enough (never underestimate the power of a simple greeting). Sometimes you can share something uplifting, funny or motivational. Sometimes it's as simple as holding the door for someone.

By always trying to live by these virtues, I have never experienced anything other than kindness, respect and authenticity in my interactions. Whether they be with my friends or people I am just meeting for the first time. I live for people, their stories, their experiences, and I have had a passion for helping people since I was a child.

When I was a kid I had cancer. I was diagnosed with Leukemia right around Christmas of 1998. I was 4-years-old. Over the next four years, I spent a great deal of time in hospitals, and the nurses in my pediatric unit had an incredible effect on me. They were always upbeat, happy and ready to lift my spirits. They helped save my life. I still feel the impact they had on me at 4-years-old even though I am now 18 years older and long past that point in my life.

I was always inspired to help others, even as a kid. At one point, I thought I would become a pediatric nurse, then a lawyer, then a politician, all with the goal of helping people and influencing their lives for the better. Somewhere along the line, I found a much easier solution: Always try and leave people better than you found them. Be open, friendly and always show respect even if it is not reciprocated.

I don't know what drew that girl to me in the hallway that day, or this gentleman to me on that afternoon. She did not have to stop me in the hallway that day when she wanted to hurt herself and knew she needed help. Nor did he have to share with me this incredibly personal story. But both of them did share with me.

I like to think that practicing what I preach had something to do with these and all other similar interactions I have had over time.

But anyways...back to the parking garage.

I shared with him that my own mother had been diagnosed with (and beat!) breast cancer twice and congratulated him on the news of his own mother. We proceeded to spend the next 30 minutes conversing. He told me about his two kids, both of which are very successful in school. I told him about my recent travels. He shared with me some of this own from his Navy days, and we continued like this for some time. Two complete strangers sharing our respective lives with each other.

I came to find out that he was also a man who practiced what he preached. It became clear to me that those warm greetings he gives to everyone he meets during the course of his day were not fake but in fact genuine. Each and every one. Here was a man who was proud of his work regardless of whether or not others saw his position as "lower on the ladder."

I came to find he was a man of virtue and morals as he told me of experiences of racism and discrimination he had experienced, some of them quite recently.

Then his phone rang — he was needed somewhere for something. We shook hands, he told me his name, I told him mine, and as abruptly as our interaction began, it ended.

I have immense respect for him, even more so than I had before this specific interaction. I felt uplifted after talking with him. I can say for sure he left me better than he found me, and I hope I did the same for him in some way. I was humbled that he shared that story with me and that I was the first person he felt inclined to share it with. Maybe it was circumstance that led to me being the first person to hear that story or maybe it was something more.

So as you are going about your day, whether it be standing in line at Starbucks waiting for your coffee, passing a random stranger on the street, or walking by that person you see in your building everyday, take a moment to flash them a soft smile and ask them how they are doing. You never know when you might be able to leave someone better than you found them, and chances are, they'll probably leave you better than they found you, too.