The Magic of Kindness

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It's Wednesday, so let's have a mid-week pick-me-up with a heartwarming story.

There is a guy named Dan Peterson. His wife had passed away, and he was terribly lonely. He'd really hit a low point in life.

He was going through the motions one day, trying to do some grocery shopping, when a little girl being pushed in a shopping cart by her mother waved at him and said, "Hi old person! It's my birfday today!"

He admits to being taken aback, and her mother was mortified at her child's brazen and inelegant way of addressing the older gentleman, but then, the little girl asked Mr. Peterson for a hug.

So he gave her one!

And thus was a born a lasting friendship between elder and toddler. Several generations lie between them, but they are inseparable.

Norah, the little girl, has given Dan Peterson a new lease on life. She said, "I thought he needed a friend because he was sad."

Now, Mr. Peterson is no longer miserable or stuck in his grief due to his new friend. Norah has healed him in the way that only a true human connection can.

Mr. Peterson recently got to watch Norah graduate from preschool. It's as if he's her own grandfather, now, and they get to learn from each other every day.

✨You have magic in you. Did you know that?✨

Photo by Robert Baker on Unsplash

A small act of kindness is like magic, and no matter how small that act, it can seem like a big deal to someone who is hurting. We're often taught as kids, "Don't talk to strangers," but sometimes, a stranger needs you. Much like Norah reached out to Mr. Peterson, you can reach out to someone, too. Even if it's just to smile at them, or give a passing "hello," you could really turn their whole day—or life—around in the blink of an eye.

I'm so happy for Norah and Dan Peterson and their lasting friendship, not constrained by the decades' difference in their ages!

~positively b.e.e. is on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest. Follow me there!~

Sources: Today / NPR