Elizabeth Gilbert is a best-selling author widely known for writing “Eat, Pray, Love,” a memoir (and, later, a movie starring Julia Roberts) documenting her solo travels around the world following a painful divorce. She writes bestselling books but is also a very real person who has days when she’s off, just like the rest of us.
However, a thoughtful stranger turned one such day around with a simple yet meaningful act of kindness. Gilbert took to Facebook to share the uplifting details of her experience at a time when small gestures can indeed have significant effects.
Perhaps Gilbert was traveling again. Her post doesn’t say, but she did explain that she had parked her car in an outdoor parking lot and left it there for a while.
“I came back a long time later,” she wrote, “many, many, many days later.”
That in itself might not be extraordinary, but the fact that she had absent-mindedly left her window rolled down might have been.
While it doesn’t seem that anyone tried to break into or otherwise damage her vulnerable vehicle, the weather was another issue. Fortunately, a kindhearted stranger took notice and then took action. When she returned to retrieve her car, the window was covered up with taped-on paper. On the paper was a quickly scribbled note.
“Your window was down and the rain was coming,” it read. “I did my best to help you out. xx — The green truck next to you.”
In her post, she tearily thanked the driver of the green truck, who was long gone by the time she returned.
“I am reminded once more of this sacred truth: Never doubt that thousands of invisible hands are helping you at all times,” wrote Gilbert. “Love is everywhere, even if you can’t see it. The tenderest care will arrive when you least expect it, and from someone whose name you may never know.”
The post has more than 100,000 shares and 10,000 comments.
“Beautiful,” wrote Sandra Rae. “In the midst of such unrest and negativity, it’s beautiful to see loving hands and hearts reach out and care.”
“Thank you for reminding me that kindness comes in many forms,” Melanie Poulton commented.
And one, simple sentence by a commenter named Linda Jane seems to sum it up perfectly.
“Always be the Green Truck.”
This story originally appeared on Simplemost. Checkout Simplemost for additional stories.
