Monday, October 4, 2010

The Magic of the Brussel Sprout.

I'm a little unsure at this point if I will be able to pull off an act of kindness each and every day. I mean, I think I do nice things, but to be nice every day can be difficult (especially when I'm in a MOOD). That said, I plan to ease into this process.  Today, which is officially Day 1 of my adventure, I have already completed my one act which makes me think that I can probably sneak in a couple more by the end of the day...
So it all started with the dreadful brussel sprout.  Who would think that the strange-looking vegetable that turns the noses of many would have a hand in any sort of act of kindness but it did.  I was entering the produce section at my local grocery store when suddenly a produce bag full of brussel sprouts exploded out the bottom of a bag carried by an elder gentleman.  With brussel sprouts all over the floor, the gentleman immediately panicked and proceeded to look for help from a grocery store employee.  As he was asking a man if he worked there, many other patrons were stepping over the sprouts and staring as if they had never seen a mishap or a spill at a grocery store before- it was the first time that I had noticed how useless people can be.  Perhaps they were embarrassed to step in and lend a hand or perhaps they just don't know how to begin helping or perhaps the world we live in (i.e. the bubbles we live in) don't allow room for us to get off of our soap boxes to help a stranger.  I immediately realized this simple, minor incident was a great opportunity to step in and help.  

As the elder man stepped away to seek help from a grocery store employee, I bent down and started picking up the brussel sprouts and placing them back into the display area.  After staring for a moment, 2 other patrons stepped in and started helping too.  Maybe I'm reading too much into this, but it was almost as if they were waiting for "approval" to step in and help.   

Eventually, the elder man noticed that we had cleaned up the spill and headed back to his cart.  As he approached us, he expressed his gratitude and explained that he was unable to bend down to pick up the mess himself.  I acknowledged his gratitude and went along my way.  

It was a very simply act of kindness, but it felt really good to help someone in need and to see how well others responded.  I think I'm going to learn a lot from this blog...

No comments:

Post a Comment