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CARING: Kindness brings us closer

| September 23, 2022 1:00 AM

I’d like to start by again thanking the lovely lady who gave me one of her newly purchased canning jars in the Fourth Street Ace Hardware last week. We had been conversing in the canning supplies aisle and I mentioned wishing they sold the large jars individually or in pairs as well as in cases.

She came to the checkout just as I was leaving, tore open her case and said, “Please take one of mine.” Thanking her, I was overwhelmed by her kindness and generosity of spirit. Little did she know that the jar she gave me was destined for a craft project, joining many other contributions which will raise funds for a local charity.

What if we all looked to be kind and thoughtful to strangers on a daily basis? What if we assumed this caring would go beyond any single kind gesture?

Just think how such a wide-ranging effort could reverse the current atmosphere of suspicion and division; how it could return us to the trust and respect that existed years ago. This could certainly happen if we aspire to see all others as human beings with the same hopes and needs we have. Our ability to communicate with and listen to one another, in the spirit of goodwill, can only bring us closer!

JILL KALBURG

Coeur d’Alene