Turn every life situation into a positive one.
—The Secret
You never know where or when you are going to find inspiration. You don’t know when a small act of kindness can help someone who is struggling. You have to be mindful enough, and open enough, to see things around you.
I had an encounter at the supermarket that I wanted to share.
I was in line, getting ready to pay. I was behind an elderly woman who seemed to be having trouble reaching everything in her cart. I helped her reach a few items and noticed a sad look on her face. She told me that she is a recent widow and is having a hard time just doing everyday things.
I told her how sorry I was to hear that and assured that her she was doing just fine.
She continued to pull items out of her cart. She tried to lift a bag of cat food out. She managed to pull it out, but dropped it. She let out a little yelp and started to cry. I picked up the cat food and again told her how well she was doing.
She told me that she saw people together on Valentine’s Day and it was very hard for her not having her husband anymore, after being with him for a lifetime. She apologized for breaking down in front of me, but said that it just needed to come out.
I agreed with her that part of the healing process is dealing with your feelings and that you do have to let them out. I told her that it was no problem at all. She said I should cherish these times I have right now. Before you know it, life has changed. I told her that I do live for every day and try to treat every day like a gift.
She finished paying and said, “Thank you, mister, for being so kind.” I said, “My name is Brian and it was a pleasure meeting you.” She said, “My name is Agnes and the pleasure was all mine.”
We smiled at each other and I saw her leaving the store with a happy grin on her face.
My hope is that I made her day a little bit better, because she certainly did that for me. You never know what struggles people are going through, but a little compassion will always help no matter what.
Thank you Agnes!
—Photo Credit: Flickr/Pedro Ribeiro Simões