“Kindness is like snow—it beautifies everything it covers.”
~ Croft M. Pentz, The Complete Book of Zingers
My day started off a bit rocky. It was pouring rain and I stepped into an inch of water while I walked the dog, soaking my feet at 6:30 a.m. As I was driving to the grocery store, I almost got in a car accident because it was so misty and foggy that I couldn’t see where I was going.
I was shaken up by the near-accident and I felt like I was surrounded by cars rushing by me and trying to run me off the road, and it wasn’t even 8 a.m. on a Saturday morning. An aura of negativity was starting to surround me. I walked into the food store, and when I tried to retrieve a grocery cart, it was stuck to the next one in line. I moved to the next line of carts only to find that I couldn’t retrieve one there either. With my frustration building, I pushed and pulled the cart to no avail.
With the negative fog planted firmly around me, I might have had a meltdown then and there, when a stranger came over to me and helped me detangle the cart. And she even gave me a smile.
Simple, random acts of kindness can make a huge difference in a person’s life.
I remember when my husband was on hospice care, the final months of his life were extremely stressful. I was often up around the clock taking care of him, but still had to go to work on an hour or two of sleep.
Little things mean a lot when you are exhausted and your heart hurts. A smile from a cashier or a wave from another driver often lifted me up so I could take the next few steps.
As Blanche said in A Streetcar Named Desire, “I have always depended on the kindness of strangers.”
Let’s look for reasons to be kind to strangers today.
Your small act of kindness may be just what they need to get through the day.
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