Contagious Compliments

I stopped to do my grocery shopping on my way home from work last night.  Nothing unusual about that.  I do it every Friday. 

When I got in the store, I grabbed my cart and started fishing through my purse, trying to extract my shopping list. That's when I heard a female voice saying "You look lovely." I looked up to see a smiling young woman, holding a large grocery-store-bouquet of flowers in her arm like a beauty queen. She was speaking to an elderly woman who had just happened to walk past her. The older woman answered with a rather surprised "Thank you."  Obviously they didn't know each other.

I smiled to myself thinking, "Not your usual grocery-store exchange."  That's when I heard the young woman's voice directed at me.  "I like your jeans," she said.  "And your sandals are cute too."  Oh.  This is a little strange...and uncomfortable.  "Thank you," I said and began pushing my cart down the aisle. When I walked past her again, she told me, "Oh, I didn't see your necklace before. It's beautiful."


As I walked away, I heard the now familiar voice offering compliments to other shoppers.  This young woman was finding beauty in every person she saw and was openly sharing it with them. 

Maybe she was conducting some kind of social experiment and was noting our stunned reactions.  Or maybe she truly was taking the time to notice the positive in others and wanting them to see it also.

I'll never know her reasoning.  I don't have to. What I do know is that in those few moments, I saw a smiling young woman bridge the gap between complete strangers by offering them an unexpected compliment.  At first, it felt strange, almost intrusive. 

But as I continued my shopping, I noticed I was offering a smile and a little more eye contact with my fellow shoppers.  And somewhere inside, it felt good.

Maybe this was the simple secret this young woman wanted to remind us of:  It just feels good to be nice to others.