It’s the little things in life that determine what makes up a bad day versus what makes up a good day. For example, my day today was awful for the most part. I’ve been coughing non-stop the past few days from being sick. I spilled sauce on a customer at work and had her complain to my manager (for anyone that knows me, that is my worst nightmare). We had a walk-in table come in about 20 minutes before our kitchen closed. None of that sounds too bad as I type it out, but as we all know, all of the bad things can add up to a long and seemingly terrible day.
But as awful as I thought my day was, I’ve learned recently that you have to look at the brighter side of things if you want to have a positive outlook on life (which I am desperately trying to do). This brighter side came in the form of two quarters left in the dryer as I was doing laundry.
It doesn’t sound like much, I know, but it’s the little things that can make our day better when we feel like just giving up. It’s the little things that get us through. Even something as little as saving 50 cents.
To that individual who left said quarters in the dryer, thank you. You are one of the people who make this world a better place. It’s not just the effort of what they were trying to do by leaving the quarters because that is minimal, to say the least, it’s the impact that it resonated with me. I didn’t think something quite as simple as two quarters could turn my day around so drastically, but sometimes those little things are just what we need. And people who do random acts of kindness, such as that, are the people that we need in the world.
In a few years, I’m not going to remember my bad days. I’m not going to remember the customers or my mistakes or the waiting around. But I might remember the quarters, and I might remember the kind words of someone passing by on the street. I might remember the happiness that someone else made me feel, even for a split second that day, or maybe the happiness that you yourself gave me. I’ll remember the good. We all will.
Little things can make big changes. So the next time that you go to the gas station, if you have an extra dollar or two, tape it onto the pump for the next person. Buy your best friend soup if they’re homesick. Donate. Volunteer. Show compassion. Remember, y’all--it’s the little things that make life better, and it’s easy to contribute a little bit to the little things every day.