“At the end of the day, people will not remember what you said or did, they will remember how you made them feel.” –Maya Angelou

 

Can you recall a time somebody was kind to you? To be kind is probably the most important value in our society because it involves loving and caring about others expecting nothing in return but the satisfaction that it brings to the soul. Being kind is an action that allows us to have a harmonious and peaceful coexistence. The environment that results from treating people with kindness is gratifying. I recently experienced a simple act of kindness from a stranger, here is my little story.

 

A few days ago I went for a walk around the big lake in our community, it is about 3 miles walk from my house. When I left home it was still sunny outside, but when I was near the halfway of my walk the rain started. I did not have a rain jacket or umbrella and just continued to walk in the rain preparing myself to be soaked and wet by the time I reached home. Suddenly, an SUV car stopped by me, the driver of the car, a man with a familiar face, opened the window and asked:

–Can I give you a ride home?--

I thought for a second and said:

–No, thanks, I just want to continue to walk.--

Then the man said:

–I have an umbrella.--

And before I answered anything, he jumped out of the car, opened his trunk, got an umbrella from there and handed it to me. A little bit perplexed, I accepted his umbrella. My heart was melting from his action of kindness. I asked him:

–Where can I return this umbrella to?--

He said:

–I will be at the baseball field on Wednesday at 10 am, or you can find me in the gym, in fact, I’m driving to the gym right now.--

I immediately realized why his face looked familiar to me - I saw him in the gym where I’m going almost every morning!

I asked him:

–What is your name?--

–Peter–, he said.

–I’m Lara, nice to meet you, Peter, and thank you for being so kind!--

We shook our hands and he left. I walked to my home, by that time, the rain was pouring but I walked covered under the umbrella of a kind stranger and my heart was singing and smiling! The simple act of kindness of Peter made my day!