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Random Acts of Kindness

Kindness is a given when bestowed on friends and family. Kindness to strangers is more significant. The acts can be small or large, but when the opportunity presents itself- take whenever you can.

I was the recent recipient of two very kind acts. They were not big in the sense that a stranger paid off my student loans with there lotto winnings or saved my life through CPR, but they made very large impacts on me. I will always remember these and I will always be grateful.

One
Two weeks ago I bought my first pair of sunglasses that cost over $20. I purchased them for an upcoming trip to Florida and was rushing around on my lunch break to get them. On my way out of the mall, even though I did not need a pretzel and it might make me even more late, I just could not resist it. However, in a mad rush to get to work and devour my pretzel, I forgot my sunglasses.

I was sure I left them lying on the floor at Macy’s when I bent down and dropped my bags to get out my keys and put my gloves on. A call to Macy’s was fruitless. I then thought that they must be sitting on the pretzel place counter- and sure enough after I contacted the store they found them.

While shopping I had placed two letters I intended to mail- one my daughter wrote (her first letter) to my friends daughter in Arizona, the other contained a $300 check to pay for our first dog. The manager of the store asked if the return address was mine. Indeed it was and he reveled that he lives a few blocks from me and offered to deliver my bag and letters to my house when he got off of work.

Sure enough, around 8 PM he showed and I had my glasses. This was a great kindness and I really felt guilty with nothing more than a thank you as a reward.

Two
In Florida, I was vacationing with family at Disney World. There were seven of use and we were going to a show on a park campus that was not a main Disney stop. We did not know the transportation system well and when we got on a main bus and casually told the driver about the dinner show we were going to, he informed us that we were headed in the wrong direction, the wrong building in fact. Not only that, but given the time and the series of bus hops we needed to make, we most likely were not going to make our show.

As we were the only ones on the bus he changed his own route and offered to take us to our first stop. While driving he gave us numerous tips on what to go see in the area the show was taking place. When we got to our stop he realized that the bus that was supposed to take us further along was just pulling out, he informed us that the next one was 20 minutes away, which would make us a little over 15 minutes late.

He stopped the bus, and got out to see which direction the other bus was turning- just to make sure it was the right one. He got back on and saying “Yup, that was your bus”, then put his bus in drive and asked us to never mention what he was about to do. Our series of stops turned into a direct charter to our dinner show.

And the show was fabulous. We did tip him, but money is a small concession for a person’s kindness and the possibility of getting in trouble at work. (While at the show I found out if you arrive more than 15 minutes late your tickets are forfeit and you are not allowed into the show)

Random acts of kindness toward strangers go a long way. They affirm and at times renew faith in humanity. They give the recipient not only the benefit of the act, but the feeling of being cared about and for by a stranger. As I have said, it is easy and expected to be kind to your family and friends. But when a complete stranger goes out of their way to help you; when they make independent decisions to improve your life- there is real value there.