Kindness has a domino effect.

Walking to my car one morning heading to work, I came across an elderly man probably in his 70s who guarded the entrance of our parking lot. He looked kind and grey, with wrinkles formed in all the right parts of his face, as though he had smiled more than frowned most of his lifetime.

Having lost a grandfather, who defined kindness in my life, not long ago that year my heart softened at the sight of this old man and filled with longing for my grandfather. I smiled and wished him a good morning but he did not reciprocate my greeting and instead dug his hand in his left pocket and pulled out a heart shaped candy.

I giggled in amusement at how this scene made me feel like a little girl again, and although I did not even like candy, the smile extended on my face from one ear to the other. I took the candy, thanked him and in utter delight was on my way.

His act of kindness had me wrapped in a bubble of optimism that morning, which lead me to stop at a grocery store and pick up a box of chocolates for the office. On the walk to my desk I began the day wishing every person that crossed my path good morning, offering chocolate.

The stiffness in our corporate silence was suddenly transformed into a relaxed buzz of giggles and small talk. The elevating vibe of positivity occupying the environment was increasingly fulfilling me with content. Throughout the day I thought about the domino effect of the morning’s incident in hopes that I could have made every person in our office feel exactly what I was feeling. Something about the old man’s minor gesture filled me with purpose to make the world a better place, one interaction at a time.

It’s been a year since that first day and every morning since, he’s made sure to consistently have candy in his pocket for me, and I have never eaten it once. Yet every morning he reminds me that I’m on a journey to make the world a better place.

- The reader is an Emirati marketing specialist based in Dubai.