She flowed toward me on deliberate shoes, in a bright dress, and beneath a wide-brimmed hat. She was black, mid-70’s, willowy in stature.
I was ambling in foam flip-flops, baggy shorts, and a gray t-shirt. No hat. I’m a generation younger, white, and at least a foot taller.
On a superficial level we had little in common. Many of today’s measurements pit us as antagonists. Woman versus patriarchy. Divided by age. Black against white.
Yet at this moment a powerful force brought us together. We were both Walmart shoppers.
I had finished picking up a few grocery basics and was pushing my cart up the parking lot when I saw her coming my way.
As I angled toward the car, she spoke up.
“I’ll take your cart when you are finished.”
She wanted my shopping cart.
And I wanted to give it to her.
Some stores are better than others when it comes to shopping carts. Target, IKEA, and even Aldi have easy-gliding carts carts with oiled bearings and smooth wheels. Others can be a mixed bag. Walmart carts often have gummy wheels, damaged treads, and hair around the axles. A Walmart shopping cart usually means you are in for a bumpy, noisy ride. So a smooth glider at Walmart is a rare treasure. There’s a special delight in sharing it with others.
This was one such cart.
“Sure,” I said as I handed off the cart. “A good one can be hard to find. And this is a good one.”
She looked at me, smiled.
“Well, you’re a good one,” she said.
That was it. She continued toward the store. I climbed into the car and drove off.
But I was glowing inside. She’d said something kind—for no good reason—and it immediately brightened my day.
There’s life-changing power in giving small kindnesses to strangers. A good deed or an encouraging word can make all the difference, no matter who it comes from.
In this exchange, I was more than a stranger. I was The Other. Different in age, race, and gender. There were plenty of surface level reasons for a chasm between us.
Yet she crossed that chasm with grace, proving it wasn’t here at all. In doing so, she made the world a better place. She hacked off a piece of the great lie that different should mean divided.
Her little act of warmth did more than brighten one person’s day. It demonstrated how to restore civility and community in America.
It isn’t hard to do. Show kindness, give honor, and lift up those who seem different. The political, demographic, and cultural divides get all the airtime, yet they only make up a fraction of the human experience. There's so much more that we do have in common. We all need shopping carts! It is in those endless shared experiences—in the real world we all inhabit—that progress happens.
Fill cool silence with generous words. Replace searching gazes with thoughtful compliments. Let others go in front of you—and tell them they deserve it. Sow seeds of kindness. Be generous. There’s atomic power in those tiny exchanges.
You won’t regret it.
As the wise man said, “Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.”
Run with it Matt.
Expect vinces ramblings