About three weeks ago, on a bright and sunny Thursday morning, I had a less-than-pleasant experience with someone in my neighborhood that left me emotionally drained. This person I barely know spewed hurtful words to me for no reason and made me question the point of helping others and being kind – I started to believe that rude people will always find a way to ruin someone’s day.
I was still feeling a little down about the encounter when I visited a flower boutique, located about a mile from my home, the following day. I stopped in about a half hour before they closed and met Rebecca, a cheerful, upbeat florist. I looked around for a bit but didn’t find anything I needed at that moment. As I was leaving, I told her to have a good weekend. But much to my surprise, Rebecca wasn’t going to let me leave empty-handed. She had assembled a bouquet of flowers for me. I was flabbergasted and just thinking about her gesture warms my heart. She explained that she was about to close and the store would not be open again until the following week. She simply wanted someone to enjoy the flowers that hadn’t found a home yet. With my mask on, my smile was hidden but I hope she recognized how utterly grateful I was. I remember saying thank you about a dozen times and immediately began digging into my purse for cash to pay her. Rebecca was a kind stranger and she didn’t want anything in return for the flowers. She chose me to receive a random act of kindness and I drove away from their store wishing more people were like Rebecca. Her actions gave me hope and proved the world isn’t as cruel as I had thought it was just 24 hours prior.
That Saturday, I was the recipient of yet another random act of kindness. I am one of nearly 600,000 individuals who follow Mary Katherine Backstrom on Facebook. I was a sweaty mess from working out and checked Facebook as I was running a quick errand. At the top of my News Feed was MK announcing she put $200 on a Starbucks gift card and shared the barcode for anyone to use. She explained what the community meant to her and said “I love y’all a latte.” I was in the right place at the right time (at a grocery store with a Starbucks tucked inside) and was able to grab a frappuccino using $5.25 of the gift card’s balance. Oh my – how sweet…literally.
This isn’t about tangible items. Flowers and coffee are wonderful but the random act of kindness from these two beautiful strangers really put an extra spring in my step that I hope I’ll never lose. These actions made me see that for every rude person I encounter, there are two kind souls waiting just around the corner…not just for me…but for all of us.
I know we all believe in different things, but I am positive these two strangers were sent to me as a reminder that kindness will always prevail. If you’ve run into a tough spot, whether it be something as silly as cruel words from someone you hardly know or a larger issue, I promise there’s a person around the corner waiting to help you. Their message might not be as obvious as a bouquet of beautiful flowers or a gift card for coffee, but they’ll have something that’ll feed your soul just the same.
On that sunny yet sad Thursday, I had lost faith in humanity but today, I’m eagerly awaiting my next opportunity to pay it forward.
“I get lost in the beauty of everything I see. The world ain’t half as bad as they paint it to be.”
Glitter on the Sidewalk 