You never know how far the ripples of kindness will go.
Angela Henderson was out shopping with her young daughter recently when she was prompted to do something kind for a stranger. In line at the checkout, Henderson spotted an elderly man in front of her. The big hearted mom offered to buy his groceries, but the man refused.
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“He thanked me and said that he’s 89 years old and doing ok. His wife died last year and also he lost 4 other family members last year. He thanked me for my random act but insisted he pay for his own groceries. His final words were: ‘most times I’m the one taking care of everyone; thank-you.'”
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As the older man explained his situation, other customers began to line up behind them… but no one seemed to mind.
On the way out of the store, Henderson and her daughter stopped by the floral section to smell the flowers. It’s a mother, daughter tradition – and one that was noticed by another store patron.
In one moment, Henderson’s day was turned around.
“While we were admiring the flowers, a lady by the name of Danielle tapped me on the shoulders and said, ‘I overheard what you said to that man and I now would like to buy you flowers because the people need good people like you. So please choose any bunch of flowers you’d like.'”
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Henderson and her daughter gleefully picked out their favorite bunch – which happened to be on the expensive side – and asked Danielle if their choice was ok.
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Mother and daughter left the store blessed that day. What was meant to be an act of kindness transformed into receiving a kindness, sometimes a difficult gesture to accept.
Henderson went on to explain that the events took place the day after the most recent Barcelona terror attack and her view of society in general was dimmed.
But that moment in the grocery store reminded her that people were still good, despite the sad things we see.
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“Not all people are bad. And no matter what happens when they get older, they need to be kind. Kind to their partner, kind to their family, kind to their friends and kind to the world in general. So today, tomorrow or whenever your heart tells you to… pay for someone’s lunch, smile at strangers, buy someone a coffee, say hello to someone. Whatever you want to do to make this world a better place can only leave a positive impact.”
Be inspired by her incredible experience, and be the good the world desperately needs!
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