Humble Hollow

Several years ago my sister and I were eating lunch at our local diner when we couldn’t help overhearing the conversation of the couple in the booth behind us. 

They had just come from a Dr’s appointment, and the woman was told that her cancer had come back, and spread to her brain. She and her husband were on the verge of tears as they conversed, having come to the solemn conclusion that her time on this earth was limited. 

I couldn’t save this woman’s life. I couldn’t tell her that everything would be ok because it wouldn’t. At least, not in terms of the amount of time she had left with her husband. All I could do was anonymously pay for their check, with hopes that it would cheer them up ever so slightly.

I never got to see the couple’s reaction, though the owner of the diner was touched. The point of random acts of kindness is not to have them acknowledged, but to do what you can to make someone else’s day a little better. We do not have control over each other’s fates, but we must do all that we can to remind each other of the love and light that exists in this world. These small acts don’t cost us very much…even a compliment or a few minutes of our time will suffice. In return for our small favor, we are rewarded with a share of the positive energy we’ve directed towards others. 

It feels good to do good. Simple as that.

Have you ever done anything kind for a stranger? How did it make you feel?