No Good Deed Goes Unnoticed

So often we are surprised by the good in other people.  Whether it be someone helping out a lost tourist downtown, or someone simply holding the door open to a store, the recipient is almost always shocked that anyone is helping them.  Why is this?  Why are we so surprised when someone we don't know is helpful?

Over this past weekend I was down in Nashville at the BlissDom 08 conference, and on the way home I found myself stranded in Cincinnati.  Our plane was late, then had mechanical issues, and our entire flight full of people was re-directed to other airlines--and relegated to the local airport hotels for the night.  The mood was low, people were tired and starving (it was 1am and everything was closed), and I missed my babies.

As I stood in line to check into my hotel room for the night, along with 4 other passengers from my canceled flight, the woman next to me was asking the hotel staff for some contact solution.  All her belongings were in her checked baggage, and the airline (Delta) would not let any passengers have their checked bags.  They had none.  She was stuck, and her contacts were stuck on her. 

I offered some of my own contact solution to her and before long, she was walking away with two coffee cups carrying her contacts, and leaving behind a profuse amount of "thank you" and "oh my gosh you are so nice I can't believe you are helping me" type exclamations.  Of course it felt good to help someone, but it struck me how one little action made such a difference to this woman.  She acted as if she had just won the lottery (actually, she was more excited than I've seen some lottery folk).

Little did I know, I would understand her position a whole lot more, very very soon.

The next morning, I was woken up in my hotel room by the phone ringing.  It was the front desk, asking if I was still coming down for my airport shuttle.  I was already 5 minutes late for it, and the shuttle was leaving.  I asked when the next one was--oh noes--it was only 30 minutes before my flight was to leave!  I couldn't believe it. After being delayed, and stuck, now I oversleep and miss my flight?  No good.  No good at all.

I ran around my room getting ready, wondering what my hurry was since I was sure I was missing my flight.  I didn't know what to do, so I called the front desk back to see if I needed to call a cab.  The cab would take even longer, I was told.  After a ramble from me about how I had been stranded and was angry that I hadn't gotten up with my alarm, the woman said to me, "how soon can you get down here?  I'll just take you.".  This was a woman working in the back sales area of the hotel. Of course I accepted her offer, and I ran down to the lobby and proceeded to shell out the same profuse amount of "thank you" and "oh my gosh you are so nice I can't believe you are helping me" type exclamations as my anonymous friend had the night before.  I made it on time, got home in one piece, and sit here amazed--still--at the speed my karma/pay it forward mentality had come back around to benefit me.

This experience reminded me not only how rare good deeds must be these days--judging by the reactions of stranger I helped, and that of my own--but how immense of an impact a seemingly small act can have on another life.  That hotel employee that helped me (at the Residence Inn, thank you!) not only helped my life, but that of my husband, my children, and others who benefited from my being in a happy mood that day. 

The ripple effect really does exist, and it's reach is endless!