In Japan just now, I watched an older woman stand and give her seat to a mother and young daughter, then engage in a pleasant conversation with a new found friend, the husband.

That prompted me 10 minutes later when a mother carrying a baby and helping a young daughter boarded the train to give my seat up.

The grateful mother a few minutes later offered me a small piece of candy from a pack she’d pulled out to give her daughter.

10 minutes more and another man stood one stop before his to offer me his seat upon his departure.

I decided that kindness really does beget kindness. I’m grateful to live in that world, to choose to be part of it, and to have others who provide examples to me.