I watched you as you made your way through the aisles.
We ran into each other repeatedly.
You caught my attention because you had some significant age on you, but you didn’t act like it at all.
Your back was bent, and your fingers were gnarled.
Atop your head sat hair long grayed.
And you were so handsome.
I couldn’t take my eyes off you.
You had that quality about you, almost as if your heart was calling out to mine.
I kept hearing you laughing out loud, throaty and deep, strong despite your age, and every time I heard it, I had to smile.
You affected me today, and you’ll never have a clue.
I eventually realized you were on the phone, possibly with your wife.
You were telling jokes and cutting up as if you were 16 years old.
You were everything beautiful about old age.
Wisdom encased in a happy heart.
Old age can be so cruel, and so many people struggle to accept it as they move into their advanced years.
I’m sure you have your hard days, but as I watched you pick things out, so careful about what you selected from the grocery shelves, laughing the whole time, you soothed my heart.
You made my day better.
And all you were doing was being you.
It was a good reminder for me today.
We never know when we might be affecting someone else.
We go through our lives, and we don’t even realize the people we touch sometimes. The difference we can make.
And it goes both ways.
Watching you today was a positive thing for me.
You left me with a feeling of happiness still lingering long after I left the store.
But it can also go the opposite way.
How incredibly important it is, then, to try hard to put positivity and goodness into the universe.
To do our best to feed people with good vibes.
A smile and small act of kindness often carries more weight than we know.
Old age can be very cruel, but embracing it seems to be the only way to go.
Thank you, Stranger. I hope your laughter lasts through your entire day. ❤️
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This post was previously published on medium.com.
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Photo credit: Tim Mossholder on Unsplash