The Gift of Random Kindness

Photo Credit: My husband

Positive Pensées

Kathy King

The Gift of Random Kindness

“No act of kindness is too small. The gift of kindness may start as a small ripple that over time can turn into a tidal wave affecting the lives of many.”

Kevin Heath

In today’s world where you have to take a picture of everything.

Have you ever tried kindness without expecting a single thing?

Don’t take a picture, don’t brag, don’t pose.

Just live in the moment, let your beautiful spirit show.

Open the door for a stranger.

Smile, say hello or just nod your head. 

Those little acts will give you a soul boost and might even clear your head.

Don’t let your right hand know what your left hand is doing.

Don’t shout it from the rooftops to make sure everyone is viewing. 

Kindness almost always involves humility. 

The ability to see that there is someone who has a need. 

There is no pomp and circumstance.

No horns to be blasted, no symphony to be played. 

Just an act human to human. 

No one needs praise. 

Practice random kindness. 

Be what you would like to see.

A beacon of light and kindness to humanity.

It is nearing Thanksgiving. There are what seems to be hundreds of folks at the store. The aisles were so clogged it was hard to get through. The lines at the register were from here to eternity. All of this to prepare for the holiday and the joy that it brings. As I was waiting in line at the store, there was a young man who clearly had some challenges with his ability to walk and talk. He was so sweet, he could barely hold the overloaded hands that he had to put on the belt. He looked at me and said, “I am sorry ma’am, but I need to put this down. Is that okay with you?” I told him that would be fine. He took a moment and slowly went to go and get a soda from the refrigerator near the register. As he walked to get his refreshment, another gentleman came in behind me. As the young man came back to put his soda on the belt the gentleman said to this young man, “Hey! Don’t cut in line! What’s wrong with you!” To say that the young man was taken aback by the tone of the man’s words would have been an understatement. He started to cry. At that moment I thought, what has happened to humanity? I looked at the angry gentleman and said, “His stuff was on the belt, look it is right behind my stuff. He just needed to get a soda.” At that moment, the gentleman realized that this young man had difficulty with speaking. The gentleman immediately became very apologetic. As the young man still continued to cry, he also continued to apologize. I felt so much for the young man, I felt for the gentleman that misunderstood the situation. It dawned on me that perhaps we need to slow down just a little bit and realize everyone is going through something that we have no knowledge about. Not one bit. Sure, as I have said over and over.. There are bad people out there but humanity.. True humanity is trying to make it through another day. This little happening made me realize that slowing down, looking around, taking in the humans around us might just be the key to better humanity. Eventually the young man got his groceries and calmed down. As I walked out of the store I was deep in thought about the situation. I was not paying attention to my surroundings and……  I dumped a lot of the contents of my buggy/trolley in the line of traffic. There was a fireman who ran to my rescue, stopped traffic, and helped me get my groceries to my car. He did not have to do that, but he did. That was his random act of kindness. What is the point of this musing? Perhaps slowing down, looking around and seeing humanity will produce more random acts of kindness. After all, “Kindness is igniting a light in someone else for no reason other than to watch them enjoy the glow.” Raktivist