Stories of Kindness from Around the World

Surprised by Smile


--by xiao, posted Nov 18, 2015
I was walking to a literary event in a cool autumn night in San Francisco. Ahead of me, a homeless-looking man, maybe in his 60s, was pushing an empty shopping cart on the sidewalk in my direction. He pushed the cart left and right, seeming to intentionally block the pedestrians. The pedestrian walking ahead of me avoided him. My heart raced. As I was about to walk to the side too, the cart-pushing man stopped and spoke loudly, "You can't pass by me without a smile!" I happened to be standing right there, surprised. I smiled. He gave me a big child-like smile! Or maybe it was him who smiled first. We looked at each other, eyes to eyes, as we passed by, smiling. We were both innocent kids again. Before he walked across the street, he turned and said,
"Have a great night!"
"You too!" I said.

A large dose of happy juice was shot into the chambers of my heart and then pumped out traveling all the way to my toes. Magic is everywhere if we allow it to happen.
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Readers Comments

echarland05 wrote: Your story made me smile! Loved it!
moznmanny wrote: Unexpected smiles can be the best :)
kindmind wrote: Thank you for sharing - beautiful example of what happens when we take a moment to really look at others and look for the good in them.
ShaktiMrig wrote: Such a beautiful encounter! ❤
Skyblue Purple wrote: Yes! I agree with what kindmind wrote.
You really saw what that man had to offer, and took it to heart.
Excellent!
Brindlegirl wrote: What a beautiful teacher this man was. A beautiful example and lesson on basic kindness. Thank you for sharing ♥
mish wrote: You had a glory-us heart to heart there! :))))). Yes, magic is all around us, for sure and certain. 😋❤️
RoseMarie wrote: I absolutely loved this simplicity and sincerity which warmed my heart so much thank you for sharing x 💓
splain wrote: Now that is a man I would love to meet. That is love coming from someone who has nothing. Very heart felt
mindyjourney wrote: Smiles are food for the soul :))).

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