Throw kindness around like confetti…
Yesterday we enjoyed a family ski day- something that happens less than it should in our lives given we live a mere 30 minutes from a gorgeous ski resort. As we drove toward our destination, our 8 year old looked up from his iPad and said, ‘Hey Dad, that ‘s the spot where that lady crashed her car that one time, huh?’ My hubby glanced over toward the side of the road and replied, ‘It sure is, you have a good memory!’
With this Ajay went into story telling mode and told me how, on their way home from skiing one day, the car in front of them had spun out on the ice, crossed the median and hit a guard rail. They were directly behind this driver so pulled over to help. Ajay recounted how his Dad had gotten out of the car, made sure the woman was not seriously injured, quickly handed her a bottle of water and some tissues because she was crying- and then- because they were in a hurry to get home and to a soccer game, let the other cars that had stopped take over from there.
I had never heard this story and as Ajay was speaking Brian commented that he had forgotten all about it.
I say it often and I feel it always- I married the kindest man in the world. I like to think that most of us do kind things on a regular basis, but there is a certain sort of kindness that gets practiced far less than the other kinds, and this is the type that seems to be my hubby’s forte. He is really good at practicing kindness on the move- the type where he does something kind and just keeps on going in his life- without looking back for a thank you, or dragging the act forward with him to elicit an atta boy from anyone.
The story Ajay shared with me is a perfect example of this. If they had returned home from their ski trip and Bri had shared the event with me, it would have made his actions no less kind… but the fact that his small act began and ended for him on that mountain road says so much.
It’s easy for our kind acts to be like shiny coins that we let those around us see- and although there is not a thing in this world wrong with these types of good deeds, the kind acts that we perform unobserved by others- these are different. These quiet, unnoticed acts may not be as flashy as those shiny coin moments, but they make us rich in a way that transcends all other forms of wealth.