Random Acts of Kindness

A crazy old man once told me, “Heaven is made of the things you give away.” It appeared he was next in line for heaven as he had next to nothing left to give. We shared a cup of coffee, conversation, well not so much conversation as a gentle walk through a magical forest. His voice had not grown old or weary of his quest to share his experience. He stooped to pick up a napkin discarded in haste, tucked it in his pocket as we walked. He shared his muffin, spoke with a woman pushing a shopping cart through the Common. She walked away smiling. The muffin crumbs he left for the birds. He nodded to the homeless, waved to strangers, petted stray dogs, offering all the brightness of his being, warmth of his eyes, quizzical wrinkle of his grin. His rambling soliloquy poked sticks at the universe, offered hope to the ducklings… yeah … the ducklings followed him as if they knew that he knew. As we approached the starting point of both walk and oration he spoke of the completed circle – not the circumference - but the center, said that the achievement was not in amassing things to give away but to offer freely those things that you always have. Time, he said, is huge, as is a smile, a word, a shared muffin, a moment in the passing of an eon. He left me sitting on a park bench sharing muffin crumbs and smiling. 1/25/2017 submitted to – Random Acts of Kindness – Poetry Contest