Random Acts Of Kindness

Unfortunately, it's rare to open the paper and find good news these days.  We see horrific crimes, political turmoil, and economic debates.  Then, I read a simple, but amazing article.  A woman in Kansas accidentally dropped her engagement ring in a homeless man's panhandling cup.  He kept the ring, knowing she would return for it.  Her fiance was so touched by the gesture, he set up an online donation for him which raised more than $145,000.

My favorite part of this story is the humility, and knowing that sometimes we're wrong to make judgements and expect certain things from certain people.  I think the fiance was truly humbled by this man's honesty, and I think he was humbled because he didn't expect it.  What would you expect?  Most people look at homeless people on the street and feel that they cannot trust them.  We put our hands in your pockets, or hold our purses a little tighter when we walk by.  We conclude that just because someone is downtrodden, their experiences have tainted away their integrity.  Then you have the kindness of the fiance.  He didn't have to set up a donation fund, but he wanted to help.
 
My assistant called me the other day with a beautiful story.  She loves to go thrifting - she finds posters, gadgets, trinkets and nice little items with a lot of character.  So, she was in a thrift store a few days ago, and a man next to her picked up a coat.  Attached to the coat was a $5 bill with a note that said "Today is your lucky day, remind someone that you love them".  Simple.  This person didn't want any recognition, they just had the satisfaction of knowing that they made someone's day.

Another friend was telling me a story about a time that he was in the Tim Horton's drive thru.  When he got up to the window, the woman told him that the person in front of him in line paid for his coffee and said to have a nice day, and pass it along.  So, he did.  One morning he paid for the person's coffee behind him and gave the same message.  Hopefully, this circulates.  Imagine getting your morning coffee, and having that message start your day?

We often underestimate the impact we can have on others.  A small act of kindness can change someone's day, and maybe even snowball into changing other people's day.