Kindness Counts
A young woman I know was diagnosed with MS several months ago, a devastating diagnosis, however she has worn a brave face and his been hopeful about the treatment she has been receiving. Today I saw her with an unsteady gait – a sign of the diseases progression. She was still trying to smile but she knew what it meant. The medication was not stopping the disease.
I ran into another “customer” I know from the store as I was leaving. She has a mental disability and was getting off the bus from the workshop she attends everyday. She will spend the next couple of hours waiting for her mother to come pick her up when her mother finishes working. The “customer” is 50. How old does that make her mother who is working into the evening? But this customer still had a smile on her face when she greeted me.
At breakfast in a restaurant yesterday morning I watched a father help his severely disabled son to the bathroom – something he will be doing for the rest of his life.
But they shared a laugh on the way down the hall.
A woman walking with a cane couldn’t manage her cane and her packages to get to the checkout counter. Her gratitude when I carried them for her was overwhelming.
Another woman was $2.00 short in the grocery checkout line. She only had some bare essentials. I won’t miss the $2.
I know two parents who are spending every waking moment wishing there was something else they could have done to keep their son alive. He committed suicide.
Look around you and be thankful for what you have. Share a smile, an encouraging word or make an offer to help everyone you meet. You haven’t walked in their shoes. I leave you today with this quote:
“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle” – Philo
Think about it.