+
upworthy
More

A man was holding up the line counting his change. The cashier's response is going viral.

Spring Bowlin was doing a little shopping on her lunch break when she saw something that might make even the most patient of us groan.

As she got in line to check out, Bowlin recalled in a Facebook post, the older gentleman in front of her pulled a handful of change from his pocket to pay for his items and began to slowly ... count ... the ... coins.

Visibly flustered by the line growing behind him, full of potentially impatient shoppers, the man fumbled the change, lost count, and had to start again, according to Bowlin. The man only grew embarrassed and more frantic.


If you're imagining an aggravated cashier pointedly drumming her fingers waiting for the man to finish, well ... you'd be wrong.

Bowlin, watching from her place in line, praised the "beautiful cashier" who stepped in to put the man at ease.

"This beautiful cashier takes his hands and dumps all the change on the counter and says, 'This is not a problem, honey. We will do this together.'"

The man was incredibly apologetic to the cashier and Bowlin, who waited patiently for him to finish his transaction, reassuring him that it was no bother at all. When Bowlin stepped up to the counter herself, she thanked the cashier for being so patient with the man.

It's no wonder Bowlin's post has since racked up thousands of shares and comments from people moved by such a simple act of kindness:

My heart was warmed at Wal-Mart during lunch.This gentleman's items were scanned and he was given the total. He looks...

Posted by Spring Herbison Bowlin on Thursday, November 9, 2017

Studies have made it clear: Being in a hurry really hurts our ability to empathize with or feel compassion for others.

Raise your hand if you've ever been irritated by a traffic jam caused by a car crash in which someone might have been hurt or if you've ever grown frustrated as the person in front of you in line at the grocery store pulled out a wad of coupons (or a pocketful of change).

It's simple human nature, but experts encourage putting a little effort and mindfulness into paying attention to when being in a rush may be clouding our judgment.

The overwhelming response to Bowlin's post proves that compassion matters and can make a big difference, even in small doses.

As the cashier told Bowlin, "What's wrong with our world is we've forgotten how to love one another."

Now that's a message worth spreading far and wide.

Courtesy of Kisha Rose Woodhouse

Man surprises partner by performing haka alone at her graduation


Graduations can be emotional no matter if it's preschool, high school or college. Something about watching a loved one close one chapter to open a new one just does something to you. But sometimes people have a few more challenges getting across the stage that make it feel even sweeter.

One new mom, Kisha Rose Woodhouse, who goes by @kiisha.rose on TikTok, became pregnant and gave birth while finishing up her college degree. Clearly, determined to finish, Woodhouse walked across the stage at graduation with her baby on her hip. But that wasn't what got people all choked up while seeing her video, it was Woodhouse's partner who stood alone in the auditorium.

The man was visibly filled with pride from Woodhouse's accomplishments when he began doing the Tautoko, also known as the haka. Immediately the auditorium fell silent as the man's words and sharp movements filled the air. Seeing him perform such an emotional dance alone to honor his partner is enough to get just about anyone's eyes to water.

Keep ReadingShow less
Family

Exhausted mom posted a letter begging her husband for help. And then it went viral.

An open letter by Celeste Yvonne shows overwhelmed mothers how to ask for support.

Photo via Celeste Yvonne, used with permission.

Celeste Yvonne wrote a letter to her husband asking for help.

Taking care of a newborn baby is mentally, physically, and spiritually exhausting. For the first four months (at least!), new parents have to dedicate every part of themselves to caring for this young life.

There's little time for self-care during this chaotic period, let alone a moment to be fully present with a partner.

A blogger who goes by the name Celeste Yvonne is the mother of a toddler and a newborn and wrote a revealing open letter to her husband asking for more help with their children. It's going viral because it paints a very real picture of what it feels like to be a mother who feels stuck doing everything.

Keep ReadingShow less


Time travel back to 1905.

Back in 1905, a book called "The Apples of New York" was published by the New York State Department of Agriculture. It featured hundreds of apple varieties of all shapes, colors, and sizes, including Thomas Jefferson's personal favorite, the Esopus Spitzenburg.






Keep ReadingShow less
Pop Culture

Here’s a paycheck for a McDonald’s worker. And here's my jaw dropping to the floor.

So we've all heard the numbers, but what does that mean in reality? Here's one year's wages — yes, *full-time* wages. Woo.

Making a little over 10,000 for a yearly salary.


I've written tons of things about minimum wage, backed up by fact-checkers and economists and scholarly studies. All of them point to raising the minimum wage as a solution to lifting people out of poverty and getting folks off of public assistance. It's slowly happening, and there's much more to be done.

But when it comes right down to it, where the rubber meets the road is what it means for everyday workers who have to live with those wages. I honestly don't know how they do it.

Keep ReadingShow less
Democracy

These before-and-afters will make you question everything about how our economy works

You'd think it was some sort of natural disaster. Nope. Totally man-made.




Images via GooBingDetroit.

Yup. These images were taken only two years apart. And what you're seeing was not an accident.

When the economy crashed in 2008, it was because of shady financial practices like predatory lending and speculative investing, which is basically gambling, only the entire economy was at stake.

Keep ReadingShow less
Joy

Instacart delivery person followed her instincts and ended up saving the life of a customer

"You're supposed to take a picture and leave, and I could not just leave."

Jessica Higgs had a sense that something wasn't right at a customer's house and her action saved his life.

One the more mysterious aspects of being human is our sense of intuition. This "sixth sense" isn't something we can see or measure, but many people have experienced it in some form or fashion. Maybe it comes as a strong feeling that something isn't right, or that we or someone else should or shouldn't do something. It can be hard to read—not every feeling we get is truly our intuition—but there are plenty of examples of people trusting their instincts and being glad they did.

One such story has gone viral on TikTok. Jessica Higgs, a mom who works as an Instacart grocery delivery person, shared a story in an emotional video that illustrates the importance of listening to that inner voice when it prompts you to make sure someone is OK.

"I just want to start this off by saying if you see something, say something," Higgs said.

Keep ReadingShow less