A new party of three was seated in a booth in my section, right in front of another customer who I had already served. The family ordered their breakfast, and then the woman at the table beckoned me to lean in closely as she whispered: "We would like to pay for that gentleman behind us. Please give us his bill, and when he asks for his check, don't tell him who paid for it."
Well, at first I have to admit, I was confused and had no idea what she was talking about. Unfortunately, witnessing a random act of kindness in action was out of context for me; therefore, I needed a moment to process what was going on and catch up with these nice people. Once the light bulb went on, I smiled at them and shook my head in acknowledgment. The man in the booth, completely unaware of what had just transpired, continued to eat his meal. I felt so good being the keeper of this little secret; I was almost giddy!
When the man finished his meal, he called me over and asked for his check. I informed him that his bill was taken care of, and that he had been the lucky recipient of a random act of kindness. He looked around the restaurant sheepishly with a smile on his face, and then looked to me to reassure him that this was not a joke. I assured him that this was very real and congratulated him on his accidental fortune. He left the restaurant in shock and with a spring in his step. The family who paid for his meal smiled and continued to eat their breakfast in complete anonymity. As for me, I went about my business working, but there was a noticeable difference in my attitude. I had a renewed energy and a genuine smile on my face. My day had changed completely in that moment. That's the power of a random act of kindness. This act was not even done for me; I only witnessed it. Now that's what I call a ripple effect!
I have told my story about the random act of kindness I witnessed, and described the wonderful feeling it gave me to many people since the weekend. That one act of kindness keeps on giving. In fact, it is giving once again right now as you read this.
What act of kindness, random or not, have you experienced lately? Please comment below and tell your story. Keep the ripple going!
This was wonderful & it made my day! Thanks for sharing your experience and I will try and do a RAOK very soon!
ReplyDeleteThat IS a wonderful story. Unfortunately, these random acts are probably happening all around me, but I too have been stuck in my own little funk and not taking notice. Thank you for waking me from my "woe-is-me" coma. I will let you know when/if I am witness one of these remarkable acts.
ReplyDeleteI teach this to my students and talk about it a lot. I also have done the same thing in picking up someone else's food bill, especially when I see a man or woman in uniform from our armed forces. Once you try something like this, it gets easier every time you do a random act of kindness.
ReplyDeleteCoincidentally, I have been leaving little gifts on a co-worker's chair for three days in a row now. (She is retiring and I am going to miss her very much.) She doesn't know it's me. When she asked me, I felt badly lying and saying, "No, it's not me!" But, if I told her, it wouldn't be random, would it? It feels great to surprise her and know that every day when she comes into work, she has something to smile about.
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