It was a bright Sunday morning, and a few of us from India, traveling to the U.S to be a part of the Service Space retreat were quite keen to visit Disneyland since we were in L.A for a few days. The main motivation behind this excursion was Jayesh Bhai's daughter Sanskruti and her friend Dhruvin, both 16 year old's. They couldn't wait to get onto the roller coasters and have some fun.
Guri felt that they both deserved to be taken to Disneyland and so a few of us including Sheetal, Lahar and myself too decided to join in the fun and be kids again. All of us got ready and hopped into the car to have a fairy tale of a day, and indeed, that was exactly how it turned out to be!
As soon as we reached there, we realized that since it was a Sunday, there were thousand's of people there and endless lines to get into any ride. The kids looked at the lines in disappointment only to find out that we would either have to wait in line for 45 mins to an hour to get an entry pass or we could get fast passes and come back to the ride at an allotted time of the day. As we were ready to leave the enquiry counter, the lady we spoke to, suddenly called us back and handed us 6 passes. We looked at her in surprise as she said she had 6 fast passes to spare and would like to give them to us. We could use those passes to enter any one ride of our choice! All of us were delighted and after thanking her quickly ran to a ride of our choice and really enjoyed it.
Little did we know that the simple act of kindness displayed by the lady was not the only one we experienced throughout the day. As the day wore on we experienced lots of joy rides, great food and super entertainment courtesy Sanskruti and Dhruvin, who kept us in splits with their enthusiasm and wit.
We passed by a funny hats store and all of us started trying on the funny hats and mickey ears etc for kicks. Lahar really liked one funny hat and after goofing around with it for a while, she kept it back. We then headed to a cafe to eat something while Sanskruti and Dhruvin stayed back to pick up a few things for their friends. After a while, they burst into the cafe where we were sitting, with excitement and pulled out the hat that Lahar was trying on a while back in the store. They explained that since they bought a few items, the shopkeeper gifted them this hat without accepting any payment for it and they were happy to give it to Lahar. At first we thought that maybe they had purchased it and just wanted to give it to her but their sincerity told us otherwise. All of us were now overjoyed by this second act of kindness in a day!
Dhruvin had bought a bubble gun for his kid brother and while we were eating at the cafe, he started using the gun to blow soap bubbles in the air. A Mexican family sitting next to us at the cafe had 2 kids who started watching the bubbles intently. One of them, a cute 3 year old girl was so excited to see the bubbles, she started trying to catch them with joy on her face. Guri, after watching the little girl for sometime, asked Dhruvin if he would like to gift the gun to the child and she would buy him another one. Instantly Dhruvin's face lit up and very generously he gifted the little girl with the bubble gun. the child was overjoyed to receive it and instantly started shooting bubbles all over the place. Her family beamed at Dhruvin for his kind gesture. The little girl's brother didn't look too happy as he said that she would not share it with him. Since we didn't have another gun, we left it at that.
As we came out of the cafe, Guri took Dhruvin with her to buy him another gun. As Guri bought the bubble gun, a thought flashed in Dhruvin's mind and he asked the shopkeeper to give him 2 guns instead. He told Guri that he would like to gift a bubble gun to the little girl's brother too as the kid had looked very sad at not getting one. Guri was pleasantly surprised with Dhruvin's idea but explained to him that maybe the family had left the cafe and it was too crowded to find them again in Disneyland. Dhruvin was quite sure that they maybe still there and so they ran back to the cafe and by a stroke of luck, the same family was just exiting the cafe. Dhruvin gifted the gun to the little boy whose smile knew no bounds!
All of us were so touched by Dhruvin's little act of kindness and really commended him for his generosity and presence of mind. A while later, we entered an ice cream store and Sheetal and Lahar stood in line to pay for the ice creams. Totally inspired by the ripple's of kindness during the day, they both decided to pay it forward with some ice cream! they gave some money along with a smile card to the girl at the counter and asked her to gift an ice cream to the next person at the store. At first the girl looked at them in disbelief and then as they explained the pay it forward concept to her, tears of compassion started running down her eyes. She was so moved by their gesture that she asked them if there was anything she could do for them. They both said that a hug was all they needed and gave her a loving hug.
As we ate our ice creams, a warm ripple of contentment spread into our hearts as we thought of all the little acts of kindness that had transpired throughout the day. The universe had truly made the beautiful day extra special for so many of us.
The 6 of us walked out of disneyland that day with great conviction that yes, magic does take place in the real world too when we open our hearts and 'GIVE, RECEIVE, DANCE'
Guri felt that they both deserved to be taken to Disneyland and so a few of us including Sheetal, Lahar and myself too decided to join in the fun and be kids again. All of us got ready and hopped into the car to have a fairy tale of a day, and indeed, that was exactly how it turned out to be!
As soon as we reached there, we realized that since it was a Sunday, there were thousand's of people there and endless lines to get into any ride. The kids looked at the lines in disappointment only to find out that we would either have to wait in line for 45 mins to an hour to get an entry pass or we could get fast passes and come back to the ride at an allotted time of the day. As we were ready to leave the enquiry counter, the lady we spoke to, suddenly called us back and handed us 6 passes. We looked at her in surprise as she said she had 6 fast passes to spare and would like to give them to us. We could use those passes to enter any one ride of our choice! All of us were delighted and after thanking her quickly ran to a ride of our choice and really enjoyed it.
Little did we know that the simple act of kindness displayed by the lady was not the only one we experienced throughout the day. As the day wore on we experienced lots of joy rides, great food and super entertainment courtesy Sanskruti and Dhruvin, who kept us in splits with their enthusiasm and wit.
We passed by a funny hats store and all of us started trying on the funny hats and mickey ears etc for kicks. Lahar really liked one funny hat and after goofing around with it for a while, she kept it back. We then headed to a cafe to eat something while Sanskruti and Dhruvin stayed back to pick up a few things for their friends. After a while, they burst into the cafe where we were sitting, with excitement and pulled out the hat that Lahar was trying on a while back in the store. They explained that since they bought a few items, the shopkeeper gifted them this hat without accepting any payment for it and they were happy to give it to Lahar. At first we thought that maybe they had purchased it and just wanted to give it to her but their sincerity told us otherwise. All of us were now overjoyed by this second act of kindness in a day!
Dhruvin had bought a bubble gun for his kid brother and while we were eating at the cafe, he started using the gun to blow soap bubbles in the air. A Mexican family sitting next to us at the cafe had 2 kids who started watching the bubbles intently. One of them, a cute 3 year old girl was so excited to see the bubbles, she started trying to catch them with joy on her face. Guri, after watching the little girl for sometime, asked Dhruvin if he would like to gift the gun to the child and she would buy him another one. Instantly Dhruvin's face lit up and very generously he gifted the little girl with the bubble gun. the child was overjoyed to receive it and instantly started shooting bubbles all over the place. Her family beamed at Dhruvin for his kind gesture. The little girl's brother didn't look too happy as he said that she would not share it with him. Since we didn't have another gun, we left it at that.
As we came out of the cafe, Guri took Dhruvin with her to buy him another gun. As Guri bought the bubble gun, a thought flashed in Dhruvin's mind and he asked the shopkeeper to give him 2 guns instead. He told Guri that he would like to gift a bubble gun to the little girl's brother too as the kid had looked very sad at not getting one. Guri was pleasantly surprised with Dhruvin's idea but explained to him that maybe the family had left the cafe and it was too crowded to find them again in Disneyland. Dhruvin was quite sure that they maybe still there and so they ran back to the cafe and by a stroke of luck, the same family was just exiting the cafe. Dhruvin gifted the gun to the little boy whose smile knew no bounds!
All of us were so touched by Dhruvin's little act of kindness and really commended him for his generosity and presence of mind. A while later, we entered an ice cream store and Sheetal and Lahar stood in line to pay for the ice creams. Totally inspired by the ripple's of kindness during the day, they both decided to pay it forward with some ice cream! they gave some money along with a smile card to the girl at the counter and asked her to gift an ice cream to the next person at the store. At first the girl looked at them in disbelief and then as they explained the pay it forward concept to her, tears of compassion started running down her eyes. She was so moved by their gesture that she asked them if there was anything she could do for them. They both said that a hug was all they needed and gave her a loving hug.
As we ate our ice creams, a warm ripple of contentment spread into our hearts as we thought of all the little acts of kindness that had transpired throughout the day. The universe had truly made the beautiful day extra special for so many of us.
The 6 of us walked out of disneyland that day with great conviction that yes, magic does take place in the real world too when we open our hearts and 'GIVE, RECEIVE, DANCE'
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