Just a Little More

I had to stop at a store after school today with Serena, who drove me there with her expert driving skills, by the way. 

As we checked out, the young man asked, as they always do, "How are you today?" I answered the usual, "Good, how are you?" He mumbled something that kind of surprised me, and I said, "Did you just say you're not so great today?" He said, "Yeah, it's my first day back after being gone a long time."

Not wanting to press for details, I said, "Well, I'm sorry, and I hope your day gets better." He smiled and said, "Thank you." 

The whole exchange took less than 3 minutes, and there was nothing magnanimous about it. 

But isn't that better than, "Hi...how are you...Fine..." without  really waiting to hear the answer? 

Sometimes in our robotic-ness as humans, we forget we're all still connected somehow and we're supposed to be taking care of each other. If we can't do it in small ways like this, it will certainly be harder on bigger levels, I think. 

And if you really want to take kindness one step further, include that stranger or small exchange in your prayers. 

Just my late night thoughts...