How a Random Act of Kindness Changed My Day
Posted: Saturday, October 10, 2009
by Danny Davids
I was sitting in my car, in line at the toll booth, waiting to pay my fee and get to work. My mind was going ninety miles an hour as I thought of what my daily workload would be like. As the car in front of me pulled through the toll booth, I let off the brake and pulled forward, fee in hand.
Suddenly out of the blue a thought popped into my head. "Pay the toll for the car behind you." Had I taken a moment to think about the absurdity of the thought, I probably would have rationalized it away as a comment from an obscure sermon in our church over the past few months. Instead, I reached into my change compartment and pulled out another dollar bill.
When I reached the toll booth operator, I handed her the money and said, "This includes the toll for the car behind me." She said nothing, just handed me two receipts instead of one, and wished me a good day. I replied in kind and took off. I did look in the rearview mirror as I pulled away. Maybe it was my imagination, but it seemed that it took a long time for the car behind me to join the stream of traffic.
In any case, my heart was dancing inside me. I had just done something nice for somebody I didn't even know. I wondered how it would affect that person's day. I never stopped to think how it might affect mine.
After I arrived at work, I kicked into high gear and started on one of several projects on which I was working. Throughout the course of the day, situations occurred which were totally and completely outside the norm of my regular work day. One incident resulted in my obtaining some incidental computer equipment I'd been wanting, all of it steeply discounted. (Half an hour later and the items would have been unavailable.) Another incident involved an issue with a project at work which at first appeared to be a major problem, but ended up being a blessing in disguise, not only for me but for several others in my office. Even an issue that started out very badly ended up going well.
As I headed home for the evening, I couldn't help but wonder how my day would have been different had I not started it by helping a total stranger for no reason whatsoever. Would the good things have turned out badly, the bad things been worse? Was God rewarding me for doing what I did, or was this just karma? Did my small gesture of kindness change the day of the person who ended up receiving it? I don't know. All I am certain of is that listening to the little voice inside of me and following it gave me a day that will stand out in my memory for a long time.
Suddenly out of the blue a thought popped into my head. "Pay the toll for the car behind you." Had I taken a moment to think about the absurdity of the thought, I probably would have rationalized it away as a comment from an obscure sermon in our church over the past few months. Instead, I reached into my change compartment and pulled out another dollar bill.
In any case, my heart was dancing inside me. I had just done something nice for somebody I didn't even know. I wondered how it would affect that person's day. I never stopped to think how it might affect mine.
After I arrived at work, I kicked into high gear and started on one of several projects on which I was working. Throughout the course of the day, situations occurred which were totally and completely outside the norm of my regular work day. One incident resulted in my obtaining some incidental computer equipment I'd been wanting, all of it steeply discounted. (Half an hour later and the items would have been unavailable.) Another incident involved an issue with a project at work which at first appeared to be a major problem, but ended up being a blessing in disguise, not only for me but for several others in my office. Even an issue that started out very badly ended up going well.
As I headed home for the evening, I couldn't help but wonder how my day would have been different had I not started it by helping a total stranger for no reason whatsoever. Would the good things have turned out badly, the bad things been worse? Was God rewarding me for doing what I did, or was this just karma? Did my small gesture of kindness change the day of the person who ended up receiving it? I don't know. All I am certain of is that listening to the little voice inside of me and following it gave me a day that will stand out in my memory for a long time.
This Article has been viewed 1,771 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
More commentsThat's a wonderful story Danny. Whenever you feel like doing something good for someone, do it! You can never go wrong, and it just might catch on. :)
Hi Danny.It could just be that your day would have turned out equally as well had you not committed a random act of kindness, but how wonderful that you did. And it could just be that riding the wave of good feeling spread goodness all around you and that is why the day went so well. Either way, this was a joy to read.Thank you for sharing this,Dianne
Great story. Thank you for sharing.Linda D
Danny, this is awesome! Thanks for sharing your blessing with us! Such a great reminder to quit rationalizing away the "good deed" thoughts that come to mind. Unfortunately, i can be too famous for this at times. Blessings to you G-pa! T
Perhaps it had nothing at all to do with 'God' OR 'karma'. Perhaps it had everything to do with your own appreciation...and how you carried that with you through the day. It is said that energy begets energy. And so...you got back what you gave...tenfold. Bravo!
Danny,While I personally think God gives in return, what is so wonderful about your story is that you had a great day. Often we are too quick to complain about a bad day instead of being thankful for the good ones!"Pay if forward"
What touches my heart most about your experience, Danny, is how that one simple, inexpensive act of kindness may impact the stranger whose toll you paid. Perhaps your greatest blessing may yet be how that stranger will go on to multiply that one act of kindness, how long s/he will remember and tell that story, how often s/he will replicate the deed to other strangers. Wow -:) ~mogama~
What an awesome story! I believe in doing nice things for other people; it's good karma, and makes me feel great, too. I wonder what that stranger thought when they heard that the toll was paid by the guy in front of them?
hi danny,karma does go around.you made me think of the 18 wheeler who turned off to the side of the road in front of me. i slowed down and asked if he needed help-he smiled, and replied no, and something else i didn't hear because i had to get out of the road myself. it was either a very stupid thing to do, or it was what was meant to happen, and i know the man was appreciative.thanks for sharing,my best,sue
Great article. Kudos for listening to the little voice. Thought provoking isn't it?
More comments
We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.