Kindness

I heard a story recently that I wanted to share. I don’t know if it’s true or not, but I hope it is. It made me realize there are a lot of good people on this earth that do the right things for the right reasons. Here’s the story:

A man owned a small family grocery store. One day he noticed a young boy just staring at the apples on display in the produce section of the store. The young boy’s pants were a bit too short and his shoes were rather tattered, so the store owner surmised he may have come from a family that didn’t have much money. The owner said to the young boy, “Would you like to buy some apples?” To which the young boy replied, “No sir, I don’t have any money. I just like looking at them.” The owner smiled and said, “Well, what do you have you could trade me?” The young boy reached into his pocket and pulled out two marbles, one blue and one green. “I only have these marbles,” the young boy replied. The owner looked at the marbles and said, “I only like red marbles, but I tell you what let’s do.” The owner grabbed a bag of apples and handed them to the little boy and said, “The next time you come to the store, just bring me a red marble.”

A customer in the store saw this going on and knew what the owner was doing.

A few days later, the little boy returned to the store, walked up to the owner and handed him a red marble. The owner looked at the marble for a moment and said, “You know what? I think I’ve changed my mind. I think my favorite color marble is yellow.” He handed the red marble back to the little boy and also handed him a bag of potatoes. “Here, take these,” the owner said, “and the next time you come into the store, bring me a yellow marble.” The young boy smiled and took the bag of potatoes.

It just so happened, that same customer was in the store again and saw this happen a second time.

A month or so later, the store owner had a heart attack and passed away. The customer who had seen the store owner interact with the little boy went to the funeral home, went up to the store owner’s widow and said, “I just want to tell you what a wonderful man your husband was.” The customer relayed to the widow what she had seen.

The widow replied, “Let me show you something.” She walked the customer over to the casket and gently lifted her husband’s hand. Under his hand were three red marbles. “He had been doing this for some time, with three different boys, each time telling them he had changed his mind about his favorite color and each time providing their families with a little food. Each of the three boys have been here to pay respect and each brought him a marble.”

This is one of my favorite stories and reminds me that doing something nice for someone doesn’t always need to be made known to others. The owner of that grocery store didn’t go around telling people what he was doing; it was something he kept private between himself and the three little boys.

The joy of doing something nice for someone comes from the act itself, not the accolades you may or may not receive for having done it. The person to whom you’ve extended that act of kindness, however, will never forget.

For those of us with Myasthenia Gravis, we sometimes get caught up in how we’re feeling or what we can or cannot do. We sometimes forget that kindness is a gift we can give to everyone and that kindness will overcome whatever difficulties our minds are facing. If we focus on doing something kind for others, we don’t have time to wallow in pity. We seize the day by making someone else’s day a little brighter.

Maybe a marble isn’t worth a bag of apples, but it’s definitely worth knowing you helped that little boy and his family. Reach out, help someone today and see the difference it makes in you.

Mahatma Gandhi once said, “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”