Kindness of the day

I have always loved this quote. It reminds me that I should always be nice and help others, even when they aren’t grateful or even when they don’t notice it. However, something I saw made me think to myself, “Is this statement really true?” Something I witnessed just five minutes ago made me question this quote's validity.

I got on the 830 UTA bus this morning, and there was a plethora of other students catching a ride to UVU. A few minutes later, we were dropped off at our destination. The bus driver was really kind, and he said a good-bye statement to everyone. I thanked him and hopped off. There were about 20 of us, a good-sized group, all marching through the biting cold of the morning to the school doors about 200 yards away.

As we neared the doors, I noticed a young man in a black jacket and a furry black hat holding one of the doors open. His obvious intention was to be a gentleman and not make anyone hold open a cold and germy door handle. He himself would do that task for them. A few people at the front of the group went through his open door. Then, someone pushed the handicap button and made the door right next to him open up, and then the next 8 or 10 people in front of me proceeded to go through that open door. The man was still there, probably feeling foolish holding his door while watching people walk silently past him through the other one. They blatantly rejected his courteous offer and chose to be impersonal and, in essence, rude instead. I went through his door and thanked him. I looked behind me, and more people went through the automatically opened door. A few went through his door, but their faces were down, avoiding eye contact with him. They didn’t look at him, they didn’t thank him. I was astounded. Flabbergasted.

I wonder now: why did this situation have such an impact on me? I guess it just made me think. Are we really that ungrateful? Are we really too afraid or too prideful to accept another person’s kindness? Why can’t we look at another human being in the face and interact with them, even for just a few seconds?

That young man’s kindness may not have yielded many earthy rewards for him this morning. He may not have received many praises of appreciation from his peers. But, I know it wasn't a waste. I’m sure he got quite a few brownie points in Heaven. His heavenly mansion just got a bit brighter and bigger.