Karmic Connections!
Five years ago, someone bestowed a small act of kindness upon me. And today, on Sweetest Day, I find myself wondering how many people are walking around with a little piece of our kindness tucked away in their hearts, while we go about our lives without the slightest idea. One rainy Tuesday evening, I had stopped at the local grocery store on my way home. The owner, George, wasn't a particularly talkative soul. He had the sort of face that suggested he had seen every kind of human foolishness and had decided not to be surprised by any of it. I'd left my wallet at home. I remember the embarrassment more vividly than the incident itself. There were two people behind me. Someone sighed. I started apologizing and said that I would come back and pay. George looked at me for a moment. "Take it," he said. He pushed the groceries towards me. "Go home. It's raining." It wasn't a fortune. It was just a few groceries, a little money. But something about that moment stayed with me. He had simply made a difficult evening a little easier. The next day, I returned the money. Years passed. I moved on to other things, other worries, and other people. Then, one afternoon, I found a new shopkeeper behind the counter. George had retired. I asked where he'd gone. George had moved to live with his daughter. And I walked out. I didn't ask for an address. I told myself there was no particular reason to. George had been kind to me, certainly, but it had been a small thing. He probably didn't even remember it. Besides, life was busy. Life is always busy when we need an excuse not to do something. This morning, I was thinking about Sweetest Day. I'll be honest. I'm not always enthusiastic about days that appear on the calendar and tell us when to express feelings we ought to be expressing anyway. Love shouldn't need a reminder. Neither should gratitude. And yet, perhaps there is something rather useful about a day that gives us a nudge to do what we have been putting off. A phone call, a note, a message, or an e-card to someone who did something kind years ago, probably forgot all about it, and never realized that we remembered. I sat with my coffee, and George came to mind. Then I did something funny. I began looking for him. I called the shop. The new owner had a number for George's daughter, who, after a little explaining, agreed to pass along my message. I certainly didn't expect what happened next. My phone rang that afternoon. It was George. His voice was older than I remembered, but the first thing he said made me laugh. "Bob! Have you forgotten your wallet again?" I told him I remembered that rainy evening. I told him that I'd been having a difficult time and that his kindness had meant a lot to me. Then George said, very quietly, "You know, I remember you." "Some days," he said, "you just try to be decent to people. It makes the day go a little better." We spoke for a few minutes. About his daughter, the old neighborhood, the shop, and all the ordinary things that somehow become precious when enough years have passed. After the call ended, I sat looking at my phone for a long time. I'd called him to thank him for a kindness he had shown me five years earlier, and that had thrilled him. One small act of kindness. I wondered how many times that happens in our lives. How often we cross paths with someone who is quietly struggling, offer a little warmth without thinking much of it. And how often someone does the same for us. We tend to think of relationships as the people closest to us. Our partners, our children, our family, our oldest friends. But our lives are also made up of people who appear briefly and leave something behind. The shopkeeper, a friendly neighbor, or a helpful receptionist. We may not call these people friends. But they are part of our story. And perhaps, without realizing it, we are part of theirs. So today, on Sweetest Day, I'm thinking less about the people who already know they matter to me and more about the people who might be surprised to hear it. I owe a thank-you to an old colleague. A neighbor who helped me during a difficult week. I think I'll send them a card. Not because the calendar tells me to. Not because I expect anything in return. And certainly not because a greeting card can somehow repay an act of kindness on their part. I'll send it to communicate that they matter to me. Who is someone in your life who may have forgotten the kindness they showed you? If someone comes to mind, perhaps best not to wait for another Sweetest Day to reach out to them. And who knows? You may discover that the person you wanted to thank needed that moment of connection just as much as you did. Have a lovely Saturday. Bob
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