The little things

It's the little day-to-day things in life that really get to me. Strangers being kind to one another really makes me smile and feel good. Today, while I was shopping at Nader Food Market at 28th & Fifth, the shop manager kept offering me things to try. I thought it was just a ploy to get me to buy stuff, but he kept doing it as I was leaving and after I'd said I wasn't going to buy anything else. As I was walking out the door, it hit me that he was just being nice to me; and it was the jaded part of me that was assuming he was just trying to sell me more.

Every morning, I take a 20-minute walk to work. Along the way, somehow my mood changes depending on what I encounter. Walking past a heated exchange in the flower district can put me in a bad mood for the rest of the morning; watching a little French bulldog run alongside its owner with a toy in its mouth can make me smile for the rest of the day.

I think a lot of people are like me: They're moved by the little things in life, by stopping to smell the roses. And that's an encouraging thought.