Random Acts of Kindness

We have our first concert tomorrow at Wolfson College in Cambridge tomorrow.  In the past few days I've been spending a lot of time rehearsing in the hall and have come to know some of the workers that stop by to clean and organize the space for various events.  In particular, the woman who cleans everyday always pops her head in to let me know she is there.  

As I was walking to the grocery store today with my cello on my back, a car honked its horn and I turned to see who it was.  It was the woman who cleans the hall.  She shouted, "You got far to walk?" offering me a ride.  I had already reached my destination but the thought of squeezing myself and my cello into her little car was amusing and I was a bit sorry to have to give up the opportunity to chat a little more with her.  It feels good to feel more and more welcome in a place.  Whenever someone reaches out beyond what they need to do, it reminds me that this choice is always available, even when it isn't common practice to do so.  To say hello, to hold a door, to move something out of the way for another, to offer a ride.  Sometimes these random acts of kindness catch me off-guard, but never in a bad way.  I wonder where they first started.  The ball is in my court, as it so often seems to be, in this never-ending game of paying it forward.