Random Acts of Kindness

 

 

Random Acts of Kindness

I experienced a random act of kindness moment in an airport the other day. It was a particularly busy day in the small city I flew into, and the car rental counter had become temporarily backed up with more people than there were cars ready. People were waiting patiently. Conversations were struck up between strangers.

I was next in line. Cars were becoming available again. The young man ahead of me was in the middle of his transaction when a worker came up and called out the name of a person whose car was ready. Up came an elderly man to claim his car and be on his way.

As is often the case, in this airport one must travel a short way to find the rental car parking lot. As the employee explained all of the details to the elderly man, he was clearly overwhelmed with the instructions. The employee looked on helplessly, and the man who was completing his paperwork said “I’ll be going to the same place. I’ll be happy to walk with you if you can wait just a moment.” Then he turned to his family and asked them to meet him in the rental car area. I watched the two men walk out together.

As I approached my rental car, I saw the young man’s family waiting patiently at the curb. And then I saw the young man help the older gentleman get his luggage into the car, and point him to the exit.

While it was a bright and sunny day, it was watching this interaction that made me feel warm inside. I carried that feeling over miles and miles of state highway, often finding myself smiling at the goodness of people. I wonder how many people were impacted by that young man’s act of kindness? I know it had a ripple effect–I was especially attentive to the needs of others for the rest of that day.