“Do you know what a random act of kindness is?”
I pose the question to my eight-year-old son.
“It’s where you help a person and the good deed wasn’t planned to do but you just did it.”
He tilts his head in thought. “Does saying “hi” to someone count as a good deed?”
“Did it make the person happy?”
“Yeah. Every time I walk up the stairs I say “hello’ to a teacher up there.”
“Then it counts.”
I should have answered, “It absolutely counts!”
I’m thinking of all the times I’ve been at the grocery store or the gym and rushed through a conversation or brushed past someone with a quick greeting instead of stopping to talk. Rationally, I know the milk would still be in the cooler if I took an extra five minutes to talk with an elderly neighbor. So why the rush?
At mid-day at my gym, the machines are mostly filled with seniors and stay-at-home moms. We are an odd bunch to watch for sure. The moms (myself included) are frantic to burn off as many calories before their hour of free day care is up or the school bus arrives home. In sharp contrast, the seniors mosey from machine to machine talking to each person they meet. For them, I always sense the gym is more about the journey and not the destination.
Today, I enjoyed the journey. I was a smiling fool. I talked to the lady on the treadmill, the lady at the front desk and the man at the magazine stand.
I can’t wait to tell my son that I said “hi” to someone and it made him (and me) happy.
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