The other morning I was in a particularly bad mood. I knew it would be a long day and everything seemed to go wrong right from the start. I couldn’t find the clothes I wanted to wear; the milk had leaked all over my refrigerator; and I had forgotten that when I set my clocks back I had also set them so they weren’t fast any more, and as a result I was going to be late for class. I could tell that it was going to be one of those days.
Then something surprising and wonderful happened. I was walking into the Union, still in a particularly foul mood, and some guy was coming out at the same time. Instead of just going through the door and continuing on his way, he went out of his way to hold the door open for me. Mind you, this wasn’t just holding it open behind him, he actually stood there and held the door open so I could go through!
It was a totally random and unexpected act of kindness that was the high point of my day, and I am ashamed to admit, I can’t even remember if I said thank you to him.
Now I wish I could say that at that point my day turned around completely. It didn’t, but things didn’t seem so bad after that. I was in a much better mood than I was previously, and things didn’t seem quite so bad.
It also got me thinking about random acts of kindness. How could something so simple have such an impact on my day?
I have experienced various random acts of kindness this year, some from friends and some from complete strangers, and I have been surprised and touched by each one.
So, let that car out in front of you, call your mother and tell her that you love her, compliment someone, or hold a door open. Practice random acts of kindness. You never know whose day you might make.
