One popular Internet story is reminding readers to exercise caution and kindness with everyone we meet, especially in these difficult economic times.

This story begins, as so many of these stories do, in a bar. One lonely man is staring intensely at his glass of liquor. Just as this tiny man is about to drink his brew, a burly truck driver bursts into the bar and steals the glass from the small man’s quivering hands.

As the truck driver chugs the alcoholic beverage, the lonely man starts to blubber like a helpless infant. After downing the liquor, the truck driver starts to feel uncomfortable for making a grown man cry. The truck driver tells the lonely man, “Come on man, I was just joking” and offers to buy him another drink.

The lonely man responds by saying the drink wasn’t the main source of his tears. “Today’s been the worst of my life,” the poor little man says. This small man goes on to tell the tale of his “worst day ever.”

First, this small man says he didn’t wake up early enough to get work on time.

Then, once he arrived at his office, his boss fired him. Leaving his office with shoulders drooping, the man soon discovered his car had been stolen. So, the man decided to take a cab home and try to sort this mess out with his wife.

He only realized he had left his wallet in the cab’s backseat once he arrived at home and the cab was long gone.

Lastly, as this man walked into his bedroom, he caught his wife having sex with the gardener. After recounting all these tribulations, this unlucky man tells the truck driver he just wanted to kill himself. But now he can’t.

Why? Because the truck driver drank his poison. This story has been shared thousands of times on social media. It serves as a powerful reminder to never make unnecessarily rash judgements with strangers.

It’s no secret that everyone is struggling in this stressful modern world. We all deserve a helping hand. And who knows, being kind and compassionate towards others might just save your own life.