In these days of uncertainty and chaos, it can be hard to stay positive when so many things and people around us are so negative.

Case and point. Micky, Chris and I headed to Walmart and Sam’s Club on a Friday night because there was a winter storm coming and everyone was panicking about the Corona Virus. I knew Saturday and Sunday would be chaotic in town so Friday night was best.

Growing up in the Midwest I have come to know that we are friendly people. We are willing to help out our neighbors and complete strangers. It is this stereotype I have grown to love living here. Which is why I was shocked when we entered the store.

It was complete chaos! Employees could barely keep the shelves stocked with customers grabbing items off of carts, digging in boxes, and waiting for plastic wrap to be cut from pallets. I have never seen anything like it in my life!

We needed half & half for a recipe. There was one left in the cooler. Micky was deciding if that indeed was the last half & half and he had his hand on the cooler door before deciding to dig deep to retrieve it. A woman rudely came up to him and shouted, “Could I grab something in there!” She almost shoved him out of the way.

Another moment was in the meat section of the store. The shelves were bare and I was watching an exasperated employee trying to get sliced turkey packets stocked for the customers. Another woman came up with her significant other in a panic. “What am I going to do without (f-bomb) turkey!!” I was thinking to myself, “Umm, check a different brand maybe?”

I couldn’t believe my eyes and ears.

We also needed some canola oil for a recipe we were making this week. Micky and Chris stood by the cart next to the frozen chicken breasts and I told them jokingly, “I’m going in. Wish me luck!”

As I got closer to the shelves, again, they were very empty. I saw one, lonely, bottle of generic canola oil and grabbed it. As I did this, an older gentleman on one of the store’s scooters said, “That’s the last one, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it is, unfortunately,” I responded. “Would you like it? I can get a different one.”

He asked, “Are you sure?”

“Yes, I am sure. Here, you can have it.”

“Oh, thank you so much!”

“You are so welcome!” And he scooted away with a smile.

It is very easy during stressful situations to feed into negativity and rudeness. We get swallowed up in our own little world and do not pay attention to the people around us. It becomes an “it’s all about me” type of world. We take our fears and anger out towards the people that are closest to us or the strangers near us in proximity.

But when we sow little seeds of kindness throughout the chaos, it helps to make our world a little brighter, our loads a bit lighter, and we are able to help each other through all of the uncertainty.