It wasn’t just another errand run.

Short girl problems and a busy mind almost made me miss the whole truth.

I’ll be honest: I wasn’t paying attention.

It was an early morning errand run, and my mind was on my to-do list. This unexpected errand had me behind schedule, and it was barely 9 a.m.

I was pumping gas into the truck at a gas station I routinely visited, and the familiarity lent itself to my daydreaming.

The loud, angry, and augmentative voice snapped me into the present moment. The agitated female voice was on the other side of the truck, yelling, clearly in a fight with someone, and the someone had clearly “done her wrong.” Instantly, my mental whining over my to-do list was forgotten, and I was scanning to see the couple as I could hear the female getting closer and the fight escalating.

Short girl problem: the truck might as well have been a wall.

I noticed another man getting fuel. I looked directly at him to see if I could get his attention, but he was attentively looking past my truck at the couple fighting. Shoot, he had a better view than I did.

The woman was even closer to me now, yelling at the man: She was not “paying for his smokes anymore,” and he could “figure it out.”

How was he going to “figure it out?”

Why couldn’t I hear him?

Where WAS he?

My head was pivoting, trying to get a better view of the truck, but I couldn’t see anything. My back was against the gas pump, and I was trying to balance on the concrete slab to get a better view.

It didn’t work.

Short girl problem update: Round 2 and still losing.

Where was the man she was yelling at?

I was worried that, being out of smoke and money and angry at being berated in the parking lot, he would come around the truck and confront me. But now it was the angry woman, whose tone became laced with bitterness and resentment, who was getting closer to the front of my truck that had my attention.

Suddenly, I could see her at my front bumper, turning around.

Damn it, she is coming for me, I thought, gripping the gas nozzle harder.

One look, and I knew she wasn’t okay. Like, really not okay.

Still yelling insults over her shoulder about how her man had mistreated her, she had a towel pulled tight around her shoulders, showing bare arms- did she even have clothes on?- and legs and flip-flop type slippers on a very cool, brisk spring morning.

She swerved away from me as fast as she appeared, into the busy street.

Weird as that was, and with my heart pounding, I went back to looking for her man she had been fighting with - WHERE was he?

To my right side, I saw the man approach, but to my relief, it was the man who was getting fuel behind me. My heart was still racing, but my shoulders relaxed, and I loosened my grip a bit on the gas nozzle.

“She thinks she is owed something. Look at her wandering through traffic, expecting the world to stop for her,” the man said without a greeting.

My eyes followed his, and indeed she was. Boldly stepping into traffic, I was not sure if the woman was demanding them to stop or not caring if they did.

“Where is the man she was arguing with?’ I asked, still uncomfortable, since I hadn’t seen him yet.

“There was no one but her,” came the reply, with his gaze still on the unknown woman wandering through the traffic, continued softer now, “So many are on drugs, consumed by their demons, it is an embarrassment to our people and our community.”

“There was no one else,” I repeated, surprised by this unexpected fact. I was not thinking of her, her demons, only ready to go into fight or flight mode - my own old haunting thoughts had spiralled in my head.

Shaking his head no, he turned to look at me. He did not hesitate but said, “I thought she was coming for you.”

I reply softly, too, “So did I.”

“That is why I was watching.” The man’s composed gaze met mine.

An immense sense of gratitude washed over me. A stranger went out of his way to be kind to me, even if that meant he might get involved in drama.

“Thank you, I appreciate that,” I said with all my heart.

I could have told this story where most of my attention was focused, on fear and anxiety, both of which were real.

But I would have missed the kindness.

The world seems to be focused on fear and problems right now. Don’t get me wrong; they are easy to find.

It is easy to focus on the loud yelling in front of you and miss the quiet kindness standing beside us.

You would miss the fact that the world is full of ready-to-be-kind people. You know it is true because you are one of them.

Here is your gentle nudge for today:

Where is a kindness, and remember, nothing is too small that you could give out today?

Much love,

Leanne