During COVID19, I’ve been fortunate enough to witness and receive complete strangers’ acts of kindness. As a wise woman once told me about acts of kindness, “you don’t pay it back, you pay it forward”
The first act occurred at the beginning of the COVID19 shutdown, at a local Starbucks drive thru. When I drove up to the window to pay for my beverage of choice, the barista informed me that my drink had been paid for by the car in front of me. Pleasantly surprised and touched, the next day at the same drive thru, I paid for the car behind me.
The second act occurred a few weeks back when I was struggling with a very large package I was attempting to load into my nearby parked car. The USPS gentleman doing his deliveries, saw me struggling and very kindly offered his assistance. He then helped me fit it into my car, without even asking. As someone who struggles with the visual spatial piece of many things, I was very grateful for the extra set of arms, strength, smarts and kindness.
Finally, this act of kindness took place with a friend of mine when her car broke down. She was supposed to teach a virtual yoga class within an hour of breaking down and wasn’t sure she would make it back, as she was several miles from her home. The tow truck arrived in great time to take her car to a local auto body shop. He not only towed her car, but also gave her a fully masked ride home, even though technically he was going against the rules of his employer.
These acts of strangers’ kindness inspires me to give back and give me hope that there are better days ahead. Even in the darkness of a pandemic, we can find light in the kind acts of strangers.