Kindness comes in many forms and often, when you least expect it. My neighbour was complaining about the shoddy treatment she had received from her taxi-driver. Apparently he was either having a very bad day or he was normally a very mean-tempered driver. Whatever it was, he had left my elderly neighbour 2 blocks from her home to struggle through the heavy rain. She was carrying parcels and doing her best to walk that distance with the aid of her cane. Her arthritic hips and knees made walking difficult. A scruffy young man, waiting for his bus, saw her stumble and quickly moved to grab her and hold her upright. Despite the fact that his long awaited bus was approaching, he insisted on carrying her parcels and walking her home. Magda said softly, "He could have been a thief or a mugger, but I trusted his intentions. He cancelled an act of meanest with an act of kindness."
Yesterday, I was enroute to my Mom's to help her with a few errands. Of all days, my car wouldn't start. After checking all the possibilities, I concluded it was something to do with my ignition because the key went in, turned the car's dashboard on but didn't turn further to start the car.
When all else fails--grab your husband, so I did. He too, did all the things I did and--nothing. The key was stuck at Level 1 and didn't go further to turn on the ignition. I ended up calling a taxi. Coming home in another taxi, I mentioned the car problem to my driver. It turned out his other job was car-mechanic. Unbelievable! He asked if I did this or did I do that? I replied yes to all of them. Finally he asked if he could take a look when he got me home. I replied, absolutely! After going through all the things Hubby and I did, he concluded the problem was the security coding in my remote. I was flabbergasted. How the heck did I mess up the security coding in a key remote that has only 4 functions and none of them had anything to do with the security code? Another of Life's puzzles. And an unexpected act of kindness as my driver/auto-mechanic took the time to figure what the problem could be. Now, our next problem is how to get our non-starting car to the dealership so this "diagnosis" can be confirmed.
People in long line-ups can be nasty and testy, especially if they still have a long list of stuff to do before Christmas. Postal line-ups are the worst. Everyone wants their parcels, etc. to get there before the Big Day and of course, at this late date, it would take a Christmas miracle to achieve that! A young Mom was trying to keep her toddler and tiny baby from getting whiny or fretful. She was 10th in line. The young man in front of her cheerfully offered to trade places so she could move ahead. As they switched, the person now in front of her saw what was happening and offered to trade places too. Within 3 minutes, the young mom and her tots were at the front of the line. Another spontaneous act of kindness.
I believe most people are kind. Many seem to be in a rush or busy or needing to be someplace else now! But, given the opportunity, most people genuinely care enough to make a difference. I like that thought. I like to think that the true Spirit of Christmas is present all year long and not just for a few short weeks.
Have you done something nice for someone today?
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