When I was a kid growing up, we didn’t know the phrase random act of kindness. I was taught to respect my elders and those who needed help. It was common courtesy. When I saw someone who needed help, I helped. It’s what I was taught.
Then one day this phrase popped up and I realized people didn’t treat each other with common courtesy, and I realized that what I took for granted in helping others, didn’t apply to the current generation. They needed someone to show them kindness to know what it felt like when someone helped out of the kindness of their hearts. What came naturally to me, needed to be taught again.
It happened in the grocery store not too long ago. The clerk was giving the customer in front of me a hard time with their method of payment. Seeing the problem, I helped the customer by paying the balance they couldn’t. Not because they didn’t have it, the clerk wouldn’t accept what they could give her.
The clerks have treated me the same way. I don’t shop there anymore. But it felt great to help the customer get their groceries. It wasn’t much, but it meant the world to them. In return the same gentleman helped me stow my groceries in the car. It gave me a sense of good will that there are good people in the world. You only need to look for it.
Don’t mistake common courtesy for an act of kindness. Everyone should have common courtesy. It’s something I learned as a child. Did you learn common courtesy too? Let me know in the comments below. Thanks for reading. The image belongs to me.
valerie writes 
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