08/21/2017
Love What Matters
"As I write this I have tears rolling down my cheeks, not from sadness but from happiness.
I was at Coles at The Gap this afternoon getting some groceries for dinner. Chloe (my 4 year old) and I got in line with our goods and I saw a man in front of me. For whatever reason, I asked him if I could pay for his groceries because I like to do random acts of kindness every week and today I’d like to buy his groceries. He thanked me and said that he’s 89 years old and doing ok. His wife died last year and also he lost 4 other family members last year. He thanked me for my random act but insisted he pay for his own groceries. His final words were: 'most times I’m the one taking care of everyone; thank-you.'
While he shared his story, the line behind me started to grow, but the checkout lady was beyond kind, patient and at no stage rushed him and for that a huge shout out to the Coles checkout person.
But… the story grows.
Every time Chloe and I go shopping we stop and look at the flowers. We admire the different colour combinations, smell the different ranges and talk about what craft we could do with the flowers. It’s our bonding time and I like to think we’re creating childhood memories.
While we were admiring the flowers, a lady by the name of Danielle tapped me on the shoulders and said 'I overheard what you said to that man and I now would like to buy you flowers because the people need good people like you. So please choose any bunch of flowers you’d like.' Chloe proceeded to choose a beautiful combination of orange, purple and blue; not to mention one of the more expensive bunches (sorry about that Danielle).
I share this story because after crying my eyes out yesterday after the Barcelona tragedy my heart was heavy. However, regardless of what happens, I must continue to show my kids that there is good in the world. Not all people are bad. And no matter what happens when they get older, they need to be kind. Kind to their partner, kind to their family, kind to their friends and kind to the world in general.
So today, tomorrow or whenever your heart tells you to... pay for someone’s lunch, smile at strangers, buy someone a coffee, say hello to someone. Whatever you want to do to make this world a better place can only leave a positive impact.
Love from Brisbane, Australia,
Angela"
Credit: Finlee and Me
