Early this afternoon, I went for a run on Decker’s Creek Trail. Remembering everything I learned yesterday, I made it a point to smile at people as we passed on the trail.

Okay, some people just kind of looked at me like I was a little weird. But most smiled back. After a while, I passed a blonde woman in a wheelchair who was looking out toward the creek. She looked up and I smiled. She said how you doin’, and so did I. I kept running.

A few minutes later, I turned around and started back. Soon, I saw the woman again. She said, “Excuse me, could I ask you a favor?” Turns out she had a tight knot in her shoelace. She couldn’t reach it well enough to undo it, and I could see that the hanging laces would make rolling dangerous. She asked if I would help.

Of course I was happy to do it. We chatted a little about the weather until I got the stubborn knot undone and the shoe re-tied. She thanked me and I wished her a good afternoon.

Paying It Forward

As I ran on, I thought about another day on Decker’s Creek Trail, a Sunday morning in late May. As luck would have it, I was about seven miles from home when my right calf muscle started to ache. Before long, I realized it was getting worse with every step. I resigned myself to walking the rest of the way home, but after another mile, I couldn’t even do that. I was hobbling along, still miles from home and barely able to walk. Of course, I’d chosen that day to leave home without my phone.

An older woman who was walking slowly in the other direction saw me and asked if I needed help. Yes, I admitted, I did. She offered to drive me home if I could make it to her car about a mile away. Soon, even that seemed ambitious. She offered me her phone, and I called Gary. Fortunately he answered the unfamiliar number, and we arranged for him to come and pick me up. As the woman and I waited, she told me she’d overcome significant physical challenges to be able to walk, and she even entered races. My Good Samaritan stayed with me until Gary arrived.

This afternoon, I thought of that woman, and how grateful I was for her offer to help. I’d been afraid to ask anyone. The woman I met today had the courage to stop me mid-stride and ask if I could help her. What she asked was simple enough. But remembering my own predicament a few months ago, I appreciated the humility and dignity she showed in simply asking. And the pleasant interaction fueled the rest of my run.

The awesomeness of smiling

There were other people on the trail today, and I was running quickly when the woman asked for my help. But something made her feel that I was someone she could ask for a favor - and I wouldn’t be surprised if that something was a simple smile, especially when it appears in a situation where it’s not entirely expected.

To people who have always smiled instinctively as part of their way through the world, this smiling awesomeness likely seems like a no-brainer. But for those of us who don’t always wear our happy hearts on our sleeves, this one simple change - easy and free of cost - is a revelation, as if someone just turned the goodness in the world up to eleven.