Spreading Kindness

Beginning today, treat everyone you meet as if they were going to be dead by midnight.  Extend to them all the care, kindness and understanding you can muster, and do it with no thought of any reward.  Your life will never be the same again.  ~Og Mandino

If you asked someone to describe me as a person and my personality, I'm not sure what they would say, but I do know what my doctors would say. My therapist would say I'm jaded and my psychiatrist would say I go into every situation with my fists up, on the defense. Both are correct analyses of me. I am jaded and go into every situation with my guard up ready to defend myself. In spite of that, I am a kind person. I enjoy helping strangers in a time of need, no questions asked. I've been in situations where strangers have refused to help me just in case I turn out to be a criminal. I know how it feels for people to refuse to help you, strangers or otherwise.

Since I am currently unemployed, I am the head grocery shopper for the family. Today was like every other day I've done the grocery shopping. I usually take my time shopping, wandering around, checking the list multiple times and splurging on food I know could block my arteries (like gummi bears to go on top of the frozen yogurt I buy). Today, I felt a little hyper, so I rushed through the shopping and finished in record time (although I did splurge on junk food). After loading everything in my car, I turned around to return my cart to the cart holder. A man approached me and asked if I had a dollar he could have for gas.

This wasn't the first time I'd ever been approached for money, but this time felt different. It felt genuine. I know for a fact $1 isn't going to get you very far in terms of gas. So, I dug $4 out of my purse and went to hand it to him. He backed away and refused the $4 because it was more money than he had asked for. I told him it wasn't a big problem at all and he should take the $4. So, he did. As he went to leave, he said, "God Bless You." a few times. I got tears in my eyes. He had been given the gift of kindness he wasn't expecting. In return, I got the greatest gift of all. The satisfaction of knowing I had helped someone in need.

I didn't interrogate the crap out of him as to why he needed the money. I didn't follow him to the gas station to make sure he used the money for gas. I simply handed him the money because I could.

I have an Associate's Degree in Criminal Justice, so I'm fully aware there are bad people in the world. I know there are people out there who take advantage of good Samaritans. However, you can't let those few bad apples stop you from helping others. I am a firm believer in you get what you give. I hope that if I am ever in need of help a stranger will help me, like I helped that man today. I hope that my kindness can help make the world a better place. You don't have to be Mother Theresa to do your part. You just need to be human. Kindness comes in all forms, whether it be simply smiling at someone or feeding the hungry. Today, my act of kindness was giving someone money who needed it more than I did.

Bottom line: Be kind. You never know how much it could mean to someone.