I was driving to breakfast in Waikiki recently. As I veered from King Street onto Kapiolani just before Kaimuki High School, I noticed a young woman on a scooter who’d pulled over to the side by a gas station. She had what appeared to be a fast food bag and she handed it to a (possibly) houseless person who had a mountain of possessions piled high in a shopping cart.
She was smiling; he was looking inquisitively at the apparent offering. The nature of traffic forced me to continue on my way, but I couldn’t help, for just a moment, to feel a sense of hope at this circumstance I’d happened upon. Hope. I’d witnessed an apparent reminder that there are quality people out there willing to lend a hand, or a meal, as the case may be. Just because.
Obviously, I have no way of knowing if this was a chance encounter, a regular drop off, a delivery (I doubt it), or simply a random act of kindness. It reminded me of 35 years ago when I took two of my young children down to A’ala Park around Christmas time to drop off breakfast sandwiches to those gathered/living in the encampment that used to be there. As little tykes, the last thing my kids wanted to do was trudge over the Pali Highway to do whatever dad had planned. I mean, Santa was coming!
Upon seeing the smiles on the faces of some of those residents when we handed out food and said, “Merry Christmas”, my kids grew unusually quiet. We finished our deliveries and headed back to the car, when my seven-year son said, “Dad, can we do this every year?” Small story, but hopefully it meant something that has lasted with both of those kids over the years.
As I drove off to my breakfast with old friends in our bi-monthly quest to resolve the world’s problems over eggs and examples, I found myself smiling over what I has seen by chance- a sincere, honorable attempt to provide more than just a meal, more than just a smile. Perhaps that chance encounter I glimpsed at provided someone with hope.
If things drag you down, find hope; create hope; embrace hope. The journal Emotion suggests that “feeling hopeful contributes to the sense that life is meaningful, controlling for other positive feelings.” Not a bad start.
Think about it…