Many of us tend to view the world in somewhat of a negative way. It isn’t that we should walk around with rose-colored glasses on all of the time, it’s just the fact that we are realists and sometimes, we are even pulled in that direction by what we see in the media. We may even have the impression that there is no more kindness of the world and that lending a helping hand is a thing of the past. Fortunately, that is not the case. If you know where to look and you look often, you will see acts of kindness taking place right before your eyes.
One direction you can look is toward a man named James Johnston. He tries to encourage others to make the world a better place and he takes an active part in it as well. It is his random act of kindness that has inspired many people and it is almost a matter of paying it forward. He helped out one person and we have no idea how many people saw what he did and will be helping others as well.
It happened when James was driving home from a job and he saw a stranger in need. James owns J&J Lawn Service in West Virginia, so he was able to spot the man struggling very easily.
It was an older gentleman that was having a difficulty mowing his lawn. He had a large yard and was trying to take care of it with a push mower. The grass was tall and he was struggling.
James mows lawns for a living and he just spent 12 hours cutting people’s grass. He was on his way home to relax. When he saw the man and what he was up against, however, he felt an indescribable attraction toward helping him.
He wrote the following on Facebook:
“So I turned around and went back and unloaded my mower and drove across the street and asked the gentleman if I could help. His eyes lit up and I took that as a yes. I ran down, jumped on my mower and went to work.”
As he was busy cutting down the tall grass with his power mower, he looked over and saw the man who was resting his head on his wife’s shoulder.
Before long, James wrapped up the job and he gave the couple a thumbs up, letting them know that he was done. Before he could leave, his wife walked over and thanked him for what he did that day.
As it turns out, they had a riding mower but it was broken and they couldn’t afford to fix it. The husband was trying to mow the huge yard with the push mower.
“It only took 15 minutes of my time but I changed their lives for a small moment. I hope someone reads this and feels like doing something good for someone tomorrow. I’m grateful to be where I’m at and I’m thankful for the people that helped me get here.”
As James was on his way home, he just couldn’t forget that older couple. He decided he would do something else so he started a GoFundMe page to help them afford a new mower. He even kicked off the campaign with money out of his own pocket and talked to other businesses about matching his donation. He wanted them to know that there were still people in the world that were interested in helping others.
It didn’t take long before they reached the $1000 goal and they even went past it. Life will hopefully be a little easier for that older couple.
The moral of the story is, we never know who we are going to touch with our kindness. Never pass by an opportunity when you have the ability to help.