Thursday Thought: Small Acts of Kindness

It was an ordinary trip to the grocery store; I was just running in to get some fresh produce for a special dinner menu for my husband. Per usual, the bright, beautiful floral department with all its smells and luscious invitations to buy them, was just before the vegetables. I stopped and gazed at the array with the thought, “stop to smell the roses” in my hurried step.

As I was gazing at some beautiful pale purple roses, a woman joined me and softly commented on how lovely they were. I told her to buy some for herself because women deserve flowers around them as much as possible. She looked down and gently said, “I don’t have the money for them.” My gut instinct was that she was telling the truth. I felt her sadness.

I wished her well as I took a dozen of the lavender roses with me. After finishing my grocery shopping, I decided to walk to my car, parked close to the entrance, and wait for the woman to appear. As she left the store, with only a small bag of items, I approached her with 3 of the purple roses and gave them to her as a gift. Her eyes welled up with gratitude and love.

Later that day looking around my office at all the pink rose items that represent the love my female Italian relatives have for one another and give as gifts; my heart filled again with love for the woman I showed some tenderness to and how much it meant to her.

As you hurry in and out of stores this holiday season, and speed down streets trying to hit the green lights, don’t forget to stop and notice who is around that might need a small gift of attention. If we can’t stop to “smell the roses” at times like these, we can’t be an unexpected blessing to another human being.