Long ago I came across the idea of random acts of kindness, and I love the idea – as well, of course, as celebrating non-random kindness, to people you know and care about.
Here’s a random act of kindness which happened to us, years ago: we arrived at a foreign airport, complete with two children and a lot of luggage, with tickets to catch a bus onwards to where we were going to stay. By the time we had got all our luggage together and emerged from the airport – the bus had gone. We asked in the bus station office what we could do – and there were no more buses going to our destination that day. A bus driver who happened to be in the office sprang into action: he told us that he was going out in his bus soon, and for the first part of the journey his route and ‘our’ buses’ route were the same. He contacted the other driver, got us on to his bus, and set off. The two buses met in a lay by – and we were speedily transferred to the right bus. This was years ago – but I’ve never forgotten it.
Here are other random acts of kindness I’ve come across :
A woman , seeing a mother in a supermarket with a 2 year old having a tantrum, went up to the mother and said “Don’t worry! All of us who are parents have been through things like this. Is it ok if I talk to your daughter?” the mother said ‘yes’ and the woman proceeded to distract the little girl – admiring the picture on her T shirt and the colour of her shoes. The little girl gazed and responded and the tantrum was over. The woman walked quietly away.
A driver going over a toll bridge, paid for the next 6 cars.
Someone returning an overdue book to a library, tried and failed to find the money in their purse to pay the fine – and the person behind them in the queue paid and said “Just put the money in a charity box, when you can”
I could go on – but I wonder what random acts of kindness other Gransnetters have come across – either as giver or receiver, or through seeing kindnesses done by others. Its sometimes called “Pay it forward” – I am fairly sure that many Gransnetters are part of creating a chain reaction of kindnesses going onwards into the future.
