If you have ever stopped and looked around at Wal-mart
there is an endless sea of opportunity for random acts of kindness and to give
to others. As soon as you walk in the
door there is an opportunity to be polite, smile, say thank you for your cart
and wish the greeter a great day. I have
found most of the time people ignore the greeters and don’t treat them well.
So imagine this…Wal-mart on a Saturday morning. Checkout lines filled with people, the parking
lot busy with cars and people coming and going just minding their own business. I myself was on a mission to get out of the
store as quickly as possible and continue on my day.
As I was exiting the store, I noticed an elderly lady
getting out of a mini-van. After exiting
the van she was struggling to move. She
would start to move forward, but it was as if she couldn’t lift her legs. Mind you this is going on as tens of people
past this lady by. I myself am just
standing and staring. It was as if I knew
I needed to help, but I was having an internal battle to help or not to
help. I am a bit ashamed that I even had
to think about it, but I have found that sometimes I’m embarrassed to ask
people if they need assistance as talking to a total stranger is stepping out
of my normal comfort zone.
After standing there for a couple of seconds and being
disappointed in myself and others, I parked my cart and approached the
lady. I said, “Mam, do you need some
help?”
She sheepish looked up at me and said, “Yes I do. I
just can’t seem to lift my feet. “
I held up my arm and she grabbed a hold. She just needed a little support. I slowly
walked beside her until we reached the breezeway. She said this was a good place to stop and
would wait for her daughter to assist the rest of the way.
The random act of kindness took me about a minute. One
minute out of my life to assist another human being. As I was heading back to my car, someone laid
on the horn. It scared me a bit and I
jumped a little. Then I looked in the
mini-van and a lady was giving me a big wave and mouthed…THANK YOU!
I waived back and kept walking to my car with a big
smile on my face. I make the commitment today
to always stop to help those struggling to walk and lend an arm. Will you do the same?
