Yesterday morning I was catching up on my blog reading and I came across a great post from one of my favorite bloggers Michael Anderson at Running Around The Bend titled “Can’t We All Just Get Along?” He wrote about finding a lot of negativity and people judging others on the web and especially in blogs.
After I finished my morning coffee I set off on a super hilly 10 mile run with my husband. We chatted about this and I explained a bit more in depth how this blog post came to be in the first place. We had a really thoughtful discussion about this until the run got too hard and we finished the last few miles just grunting, but the post was spinning in my head the entire time.
To be honest, I was a little bit surprised only because I feel like I have filled my blog world with some incredibly positive people. I don’t really follow blogs that tend to whine or take negative spins. On the other hand I am super lucky to have really thoughtful and kind followers who are always leaving positive feedback and encouraging me along my journey.
However, I do completely agree that there is a general attitude of negativity these days and people often get caught up in the belief that their way is the correct and only way. Whether it is how you approach your fitness or diet routine or especially the way many view religion or politics there tends to be a “my way or the highway” attitude. People can’t fathom why others don’t agree with their personal beliefs and tend to assume that those on the other side are simply just “wrong.”
After our run we went to a local diner just down the road from our lake house. This place makes everything from scratch and is known for their various baked breads. When we walked in it was packed full of locals on their lunch hour and lake house families who were up visiting for the week.
Shirley’s only has about 10 booths, a few seats at the counter, and one big round table in the back. When we came in we got the last booth and two gentlemen were eating at the table in the back. After we ordered I noticed a family walk in; a husband and wife, three children and a grandfather. They were informed that there would be a wait unless they wanted to eat at the counter. The parents kindly said not to worry they would just wait.
The gentlemen in the back table were just starting to eat their meal. But I overheard one man remark to the other that they should move so the family could sit down. Without a word, they picked up their meals, moved them over to the counter and told the waitress to give the table to the family.
If that was how the meal ended I would have been thrilled but the greatness keeps going.
After the family sat down my husband leaned in an told me that the dad got up and very discreetly pulled the waitress over. He told her to please put the men’s checks on his bill.
I started to tear up at this really thoughtful act of kindness. I was speechless. And the greatness kept on going….
I remarked to my husband that it was a wonderful lesson for his kids to learn, that you can do something nice for another person as an act of gratitude. But my husband said that the kids didn’t know because he did it so quietly. The dad did it so discreetly, nobody noticed except my kindhearted husband.
When the men went to pay their bill the waitress informed them that it had been taken care of. They were shocked and waited around to thank the family. He stopped and said, “Thank you for taking care of our meal. You really didn’t need to do that.” The father responded and said, “It was our pleasure, you didn’t need to move. Sometimes it comes back around.”
That quote has me tearing up again. Sometimes it does come back around. For every annoying thing that has come your way, there is that one amazing thing a friend or a stranger has done, even a simple act like waiting to open a door for you. So instead of sitting around waiting to see something great happen, do something great for someone else. Sometimes it comes back around.
Running On Healthy 
Acts of kindness no matter how small or big, thought out or automatic, always bring a smile and make someones day (and this case an added teary eye) and like you say, come back around generally when you least expect it.
That is so true. I think it is important for people to remember that.
That is a great story, a great lesson and one I will remember. Thanks.
Darn it *sniff* something must have gotten in my eye … 🙂 I love this post, and in this world where there are so many petty things done and such seeming disregard for others, I love these examples of how people can take care of each other. Thanks so much for sharing.
I loved seeing kindness in action with my boys when we were on vacation, now that they are basically young adults. NYC isn’t always the most polite or kind city, so they even took othes by surprise! Holding the door, giving up seats on the metro, letting people pass to keep families together, and on and on. Made me proud, and also proud that they weren’t the only ones. If we look for bad behavior we will see it – it is easy to spot because it is loud and showy. Look for good behavior and it is there … but it is quiet and soft-spoken. But still there.
Thanks again for the great story!
Your boys sound like such nice gentlemen. Sending them out into the bigger world like that will inspire others to treat each other well I am sure.
What a lovely story, and a really nice tie-in to Mike’s post. I also really love that little graphic you’ve got there. Thanks for sharing!
His post was so great as usual. I thought it was perfect timing with yesterday’s events.
This is like a big hug. Such a good thought to go into the weekend with. Have a great weekend, speaking of!
Gotta love good weekend thoughts 🙂
That’s such a beautiful story. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
So true. During my commute to work in the AM I always try to give atleast one person a break. I let them into traffic or don’t block an intersection or entrance to a parking lot. Stuff like that. When someone waves me through an intersection, I really appreciate it.
Andy
It just takes one random act to make another person’s day and I’m sure it brightens yours as well.
Awww what a nice story! I would have teared up too! Random acts of kindness are the best, especially when there is so much upsetting content on the news.
I completely agree. It was a great reminder.
I couldn’t love this more if I tried. I am in tears reading it. I totally agree that there has been so much judgement and negativity in the blogworld and in general lately and what a perfect situation to find yourself in. Thank you so much for sharing this with us. I’ll be thinking of ways to pass it on this weekend. ❤
Thanks. I think it is great inspiration for just that. Seeing others help each other out makes you want to join in.
Great post! While I think I can be negative sometimes, I like to call it off as my charming, self-deprecating humor 😛 It’s fine as long as I don’t project it onto others haha.
LOL that is too funny. I have to say I tend to keep the negativity focused on myself as well. Doesn’t bother anyone except my husband 😉
Thanks for sharing this story – it really hit me in the feels! With all the terrible things happening in the world right now it’s nice to be reminded of the inherent goodness of people.
I needed to hear that! There’s so much negativity in our world that we need to hear stories like that to remind ourselves how good life is. I love those kind of experiences and I’m so glad you shared.
Gratitude + paying it forward is truly infectious! Thank you for the reminder + the example that kindness still exists in our world. I’ll do my best to pass it along.
It really was too special to share. It still makes me smile to think about.
Sometimes you don’t get a reward immediately, but you should still do good, just because it’s the right thing to do and you feel good when you know you’ve made someone happy
You never hear the good stuff you know? Thank you so much for sharing this!! I agree in that I surround myself (by reading and following) positive blogs and that helps me keep the positive going–why I love YOUR blog so much 🙂
Thank you so much for your kind words. That meant a lot to me to see this morning. The same goes for you and your blog 🙂
Love this. Love hearing stories like this! 🙂
Oh darn, now I’m sitting here at work getting all teary! It’s SO nice to see there are still kind people left in the world when sometime it seems like all you hear about are people fighting and killing each other. I think that’s what makes runners so unique – for the most part, this is the type of person I’ve met through this crazy sport. Must be all those endorphins! 🙂
I completely agree. I am in the process of training and entire team of runners for the Chicago Marathon. They are all running for the MDA and whether they are running for a family member or just to be a part of a team to train with, they are all the kindest and most caring people. It has been an incredible experience so far.
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