Human Kindness

Sometimes it is difficult to believe that human kindness is an inherent quality that we have, and sometimes it can be so all too easy to loose our faith in it when we live in the world that we do. However, today was one of those days that I was so impressed with the kindness that I saw around me... 

I went to the children's hospital today (CHOC) where I volunteer on Sunday afternoons. The hospital can be a difficult place, but this hospital does a great job of treating their patients as kids first and seems to really value their families. With that said, I walked in today (in somewhat of a hurry) and went to clock in. I heard a bunch of commotion in the cafeteria and took a minute to walk by and see what was going on. When I walked in, I saw a sea of people, party decorations, a big birthday cake and the man of the hour...a little boy who was surrounded by all of his friends and family celebrating his 4th birthday. This sight was so heartwarming. It would be so difficult to have to spend your birthday or a holiday in the hospital at any age, and it brought tears to my eyes to see this child's friends, family, and hospital staff together for one common goal... to celebrate this little guy's birthday. Today, he was not a patient, he was a kid surrounded by the people he loves most on a special Sunday afternoon. 

Needless to say, it was a great day at CHOC, but definitely a busy one at that. So, some much needed R & R was required, so I hit the beach with my family for the evening to watch my dad surf and to sit on the beach... so relaxing!! As I was observing, I saw this poor girl loose her surfboard in the water (her leash must have been broken) and this man - a total stranger - swam way far out of his way to grab her board before the surf took it in. Another act of human kindness. Then a few minutes later, this man walks up to us and offers for us to join his family at the fire pit if we were getting cold. Human kindness... maybe it's not so uncommon. It is truly amazing what you see when you are looking for it. I find myself focusing too often on the annoying cashier at the local coffee house, or the angry driver next to me at the stop light. Human kindness often goes unnoticed, but when we take the time to look for it, it truly inspires us to do the same. Here's to human kindness and the hope that it continues to stick around for a while!