Kindness Still Exists

Kindness is the essence of a celestial life. Kindness is how a Christlike person treats others. Kindness should permeate all of our words and actions at work, at school, at church, and especially in our homes. Kind words not only lift our spirits in the moment they are given, but they can linger with us over the years.-Joseph B. Wirthlin, “The Virtue of Kindness,” Liahona, May 2005
The other day I was at Costco with my almost 87 year old in-laws, Pat and Ruth. It had been a stressful shopping venture. We finally made it through the checkout when my father-in-law announced that he needed to go to the bathroom. So Ruth and I were waiting. I remembered that Ruth needed stamps. I remembered that Costco sold stamps. I left Ruth and ran to get the stamps. Upon my return I told Ruth to go back and get in line...the short one...and I'd wait for Pat while she purchased stamps. Well, as she was heading for the short line a younger man beat her to the line. Grrrr. Was it her fault she was a slower walker? She was so much closer to the line when they both started out. Did the man know that in my mind he had taken cuts in front of an old lady? Well, within seconds, this man turned to Ruth and said, since you only have one thing why don't you go in front of me. (YEAH!) And amazingly enough the next man (who also only had one thing) told Ruth to go in front of him as well. Now, I was watching this scene unfold, unknown to these two kind men. I was watching their faces during the transaction. They couldn't tuck their grins in. They had been kind...and they knew it. A simple act of kindness...and they had a better day. You could just tell from their demeanor. Which got me thinking. Doing a kindness for someone does indeed help the person, but I think that the kind deed do-er gets so much more. The kind deed do-er gets to feel better about him or herself. Try it.