INTENTION

It happened on a grey Monday afternoon.

I was leaving a restaurant after a quick lunch with some old friends. Being in the city, I found myself stuck on a side street with a flashing traffic light. Considering the holiday traffic on the main road, it would take a miracle for me to find an opening to turn onto it. It would’ve been faster to repark my car and walk to my destination.

As I waited in eternity, a middle-aged woman walked in front of my car and crossed the street. I watched her as she strode to the other side, and just as I was about to join her by giving up and forever abandoning my vehicle, she did something. It was small, but it made all the difference.

She tapped the crosswalk button so the light would change.

She didn’t have to do this. She wasn’t walking in that direction. She didn’t know me. Hell, she barely knew how long I have been at that intersection. What she did gave her nothing. Yet what I learned, is that kindness does not need reasons. Kindness does not need a return. Kindness just needs intention. I can’t speak for everyone, but I often confuse the laws of physics for the laws of the human spirit. Yes, it is true that every action has an equal or opposite reaction. For the human condition though, every action has a possibility of making this world a better place for someone else.  

 The light changed, I made my turn, and the day was suddenly sunnier.

-Ed.