Practice random acts of kindness

Picked up an elderly lady’s walking stick today. She dropped it and was looking around for someone to help her. Then she started to bend over to pick it up and the rose that she was wearing in her jacket dropped and she started to worry out loud. So I rushed over and picked up her cane for her. Then I collected her rose and helped her put it back in her jacket. She seemed completely stunned that a perfect stranger was helping her. Maybe that’s why I post these things here. So that kindness won’t be so strange anymore.

Bought the stranger in line behind me his coffee this morning.

I printed a note that said YOU ARE APPRECIATED, thank you(:
and left it on her desk with a hershey’s kiss.

She was happy the whole class and kept looking around for someone to make a knowing sort of eye contact with her but I was careful not to let her know it was me

It feels strange to write down what I have done for others. I feel reluctant to post things that I have done because, to me, they seem to be actions that are called for under normal circumstances and not something which needs to be highlighted. Perhaps I feel uncomfortable with the fact that it seems like blowing one’s own trumpet or maybe I just don’t like being in the spotlight. Does anyone else feel this way or is it just me?

I do like doing things for others, just not writing about it in a public forum. However, having the goal on my list definitely helps.

It has been awhile since I wrote an entry here. It is not as though I don’t do regular acts of kindness. They happen daily, like pick up a dropped paper for someone that did not even know they lost it, or to tell someone their lights were left on.

To me, this is basic humanity. This is something we should all be doing for each other on a daily basis. I try to write about things that took some effort.

Coming out of Walmart tonight, a woman carrying way to much had a small problem. One of her bags was ripped and about to pour her grocery’s on the ground. Before I could get to her, it happened. Fortunately nothing was broken.

I was carrying bags back into Walmart to recycle and start my shopping, so I had extra bags. I helped her pick her items up and use some of my bags to do so. She was very thankful.

Nice evening.

Every day, I drive on the Garden State Parkway to and from work. In case you don’t know, NJ is not just the Garden State, we’re also the “Toll State” – every 20 miles or so, we have to pay to drive on the GSP. Rather than have to stop at the toll booth, I have an E-Z pass, which is like an electronic debit card attached to the windshield.

Well, with switching to the new car, I forgot to attach it to the windshield yesterday but out of habit, I drove thru the E-Z pass lane. Oops! Today, I decided I’d try to make good. I stopped at a regular manned (or woman-ed) toll booth and told the woman I wanted to pay my toll for yesterday. She laughed and said I couldn’t do that. I wonder why? Would I cause a crisis for someone if they came up 50 cents over in their cash drawer at the end of their shift?

But I still felt I owed NJ 50 cents. So I asked her if I could pay the toll for the car behind me. She laughed and said I could. So that’s what I did. After I drove away, in my mirror, I saw the pick up truck behind me stop then drive thru the booth very quickly so she definitely let the guy thru.

Hopefully, the driver accepted this anonymous act of kindness and will pay-it-forward in some way. He didn’t catch up to me for any kind of acknowledgement but that’s not why I did it.

I did it because I made a mistake yesterday and wanted to “right the wrong”....plus NJ needs money. :o)

I feel like in the last week or two I may have done this a handful of times, besides benefitting from others’ kindness too.

First, I was in the charity shop in town with my mum and brother and I was just leaving to nip next door while they browsed, when I was fenced in by an elderly lady struggling to unload two full bin bag donations from a shopping trolley. Naturally I asked if she was managing, and took one of the bags which she’d perched on the edge of the trolley before lifting the other out for her.
I don’t know, I’m not sure this counts or not, it just seemed the obvious thing to do. Mind you, I can think of people who would have tried to squeeze past or watched her struggle while waiting to get by.

Second, I was in the city last Sunday evening after returning from London, milling about to find somewhere to change a £50 to get bus fare. I ended up in Subway buying a chicken Sub, and the guy who worked in there (he was on his own, very quiet at that time) was astonished when he saw the £50 note, he couldn’t believe it. I laughed and said “Sorry, it’s all I have. I need bus fare, that’s what it is”, he said “no problem at all!” then commented at the £46.something change he had to give me. As he was about to hand it over, he put the £5 on the counter and said “tell you what…. here’s your bus fare” as he counted out 5 pound coins.
Maybe that’s not a big deal but I just thought it was nice of the guy to do that for me, as a £5 would have been okay to pay my fare. He was in such a good mood and so was I, before but even moreso after that incident. :D

After leaving Subway a woman hauling 2 suitcases stopped me and asked me where Queen Street was… I had no idea. I could tell from her accent she wasn’t from the UK. I asked if she was looking for a specific address, to which she replied “Yes, Chasley hotel. I have a map”, I’d not heard of it but I looked at the map and according to it we were right on the corner. “It should be here” she said, I looked around and glanced over her shoulder, “Ah, it is! Queen Street, look, there’s the sign”, after which I looked down the street and saw “Chasley Hotel” in huge letters. I pointed and said “that would be it, wouldn’t it?” She thanked me and smiled, and I wished her a good night. That felt good.

On another day, I had nipped into town with friends during a college lunch break. I only had fare one way so my friend loaned me the return fare. While waiting at the bus station for the bus back to college, a girl came out of nowhere and offered a day ticket to me, for which I thanked her greatly and gave my friend her money back.

Phew, long post! It all seemed to come at once. I’m hoping these kinds of things may happen more frequently. =)

I’ve had this goal on my list for almost 7 months. It didn’t make me do more “good deeds” than usual.
Besides, since I’m interacting everyday with patients now, I’m constantly practicing acts of kindness … So I’ll consider this one DONE!

Helped out a man with crutches and a luggage in the subway. He said he was surprised there were still nice people out there and could not find a way to thank me.
=)

Also helped tourists get around town a few times.

I know these are small things but it’s better than nothing.

my friend stopped to talk to 2 young men who were passing through town “riding the rails”. She likes journalism and asks lots of questions of people. She is the reason we stopped to talk to them.

We visited for a few minutes and discovered they hadn’t eaten for a couple of days. My friend and I went to the local burger place and I bought them each a burger and fries plus a pepsi.

When the burgers arrived my friend said she was hungry and we should eat them. I just laughed at her and took the food to the boys. She was a little miffed.

No good intentions go unpunished. LOL