Last Monday, to prepare a picnic, I decided to go into a superstore which was on my way home.
I parked my car in the big parking lot and went into the superstore. It was a huge one, spread onto 2 stories and 200,000+ sq-ft. After 45 minutes of shopping (which looked like an authentic escape game) to just get some tomatoes, cheese and 3 toothpicks - yes the ratio time/articles is ridiculous - I arrived to the cashier line, thoughtful and a bit frustrated by the time I spent to get 3 articles. I wondered why I did not go to a small local store.
After 15 minutes of waiting in the line, the woman in front of me calls me: "Hey... you only have 5 articles? Pass before me, I have way more articles than you!"
It wasn't the first time it happened to me. But her initiative was disarming, as well as was her smile (she did not wear any mask, so I could see it). Not knowing what else to do, I accepted her offering. We chitchatted a bit waiting for the customers ahead of us to finish - she was incredibly pleasant. Then I thanked her, giving her back my brightest smile (although I was wearing a mask...).
Getting back in my car, I rethought about that good moment, and realized that she made my day. In the meantime, I wondered how to give it back to her. No doubt it was quite impossible, so I considered how to pay-it-forward to someone else.
While driving, I realized that she saved me 10 minutes. And while I was driving at 70mph, I reduced my speed to 55mph. My fuel consumption drastically dropped down by 35%.
Admittedly, I re-lost part of the 10 minutes that the woman offered me, but it was a way to repay her and do a small thing for the environment.
I parked my car in the big parking lot and went into the superstore. It was a huge one, spread onto 2 stories and 200,000+ sq-ft. After 45 minutes of shopping (which looked like an authentic escape game) to just get some tomatoes, cheese and 3 toothpicks - yes the ratio time/articles is ridiculous - I arrived to the cashier line, thoughtful and a bit frustrated by the time I spent to get 3 articles. I wondered why I did not go to a small local store.
After 15 minutes of waiting in the line, the woman in front of me calls me: "Hey... you only have 5 articles? Pass before me, I have way more articles than you!"
It wasn't the first time it happened to me. But her initiative was disarming, as well as was her smile (she did not wear any mask, so I could see it). Not knowing what else to do, I accepted her offering. We chitchatted a bit waiting for the customers ahead of us to finish - she was incredibly pleasant. Then I thanked her, giving her back my brightest smile (although I was wearing a mask...).
Getting back in my car, I rethought about that good moment, and realized that she made my day. In the meantime, I wondered how to give it back to her. No doubt it was quite impossible, so I considered how to pay-it-forward to someone else.
While driving, I realized that she saved me 10 minutes. And while I was driving at 70mph, I reduced my speed to 55mph. My fuel consumption drastically dropped down by 35%.
Admittedly, I re-lost part of the 10 minutes that the woman offered me, but it was a way to repay her and do a small thing for the environment.
1600 Reads
- Posted by olivierchhu
- Jul 23, 2020
- Comments (6)
Readers Comments
linda wrote: I love the way you transformed one kindness into a different one.
Rajni wrote: You did a wonderful job. Your environmental care is very inspiring. May others follow suit.
michelelpurce wrote: wonderfully kind way to think. :) thanks for making the world a kinder place. :)
Mish wrote: I like how your mind works, Olivier :)
mindyjourney wrote: Everything ties in together â¤ï¸ 🚙 , especially when we realize the threads of kindness :).
DANCE wrote: The magic of kindness...
