Humanity. The unique quality of humans is that we make mistakes and we have the ability to learn and grow. We have heart. Emotion. Most of us can talk about those feelings that exist in a way that is understood by other humans. We know right from wrong, at least most of us do. Or we should.
Most days milling around among us I find a vast separation of nice and not so much. Much to my chagrin. Other times I am pleasantly surprised to find humanity in the most unlikely of places.
Aldis. One of my favorite stores. I find a majority of produce that I like, food for lunch and I never leave without something extra. No matter that I have a shopping list in hand, a nice surprise will find a place in my cart.
The greatness though starts in the parking lot. Lines of grocery carts chained together, hungry for a quarter so they can be set free. No searching for carts, worrying about them hitting a car. Method in what is a potential madness.
Parking far away from the store, leaving the close spots for the ones that truly need or want it is my mode of operation. I always start with my quarter in hand to trek to those carts by the door. One day recently a gentleman, with an elderly man walking with a cane, had parked close to me. They were trying to pack up and leave. He looked bothered and I didn’t want to bother him further by offering my change for his cart, hating to be a pest. He was the one who offered it, looking relieved I said yes. When I stretched out my hand to give him the quarter he refused.
Don’t worry about it were his grateful words. Pay it forward was the silent message.
An easy task for that store. Not a lot of money, the gesture is still genuine and generous. For busy moms, elderly people, an expectant mother, it can mean the world. With it, adding a wide smile, a gracious 'your welcome' and a sparkle in the eye, it will make someone’s day. If it does not do anything for them, the only thing that matters is how we feel. It should make us feel wonderful, to show a gesture of beautiful humanity to another person.
In the parking lot of an Aldis and the low cost of twenty-five cents. SMW
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