What’s One Good Thing That Happened Today?

A few weeks ago my facebook friend Judy Roberts shared a story from a site called Astonishing by Grace Jenkins.    The story began with this hook that caught my attention

My name’s Arnold. I’m 66. Used to fix trucks for 40 years down at Horace’s Garage. Retired now. Most days feel…. quiet. Too quiet. My wife, Jessica, works part-time at the hospital, so the house echoes. I’d sit there, staring at my hands that could rebuild an engine blindfolded but didn’t know what to do anymore. Felt invisible. Like dust on a shelf.

One Tuesday, I took the bus just to move. Route 12, the slow one that crawls through our town. Sat near the back, same as always. Noticed a girl. Maybe 15, dark braids, hoodie pulled low. Every day, same seat. Shoulders hunched, staring out the window like the world was ending. Her name was Maya, I’d learn later. She looked so alone, it hurt my chest. Reminded me of my grandson when his dog passed. That heavy sadness.

I don’t know why I did it. Maybe because Jessica said, “Go talk to someone, Arnold. You’re not broken.” So as the bus rumbled past the old cinema, I leaned over. Just a little. Softly, like talking to a scared cat “Hey. What’s one good thing that happened today? Even tiny.”

Maya jumped. Looked at me like I’d spoken Martian. Her eyes were red. “Huh?”

“Anything,” I said, shrugging. “Sun came out? Coffee didn’t suck? Tell me one good thing.”

She blinked. Then, real quiet, “My little brother….. he drew me a picture. Said I was his ‘favorite superhero.’” A tiny smile touched her lips. “Stupid, right?”

“Not stupid,” I said. “That’s good. Real good.” I nodded, sat back. Didn’t say another word. But when she got off at Elm Street, she turned. Looked right at me. “Thanks, mister.”

Next day, same bus. Same seat. Maya was there. As she stood to get off, she turned to the man beside her, a tired guy in a delivery uniform. “Hey,” she said, just like I did. “What’s one good thing today?”

He frowned, then smiled. “Got paid early. Bought my kid ice cream.”

Maya grinned. “Nice.” Stepped off.

My heart did a little flip.

I kept doing it. Every bus ride. “What’s one good thing today?” Sometimes people ignored me. Sometimes they’d snap, “Leave me alone.” But most…. most paused. A woman with grocery bags, “My roses bloomed early.” A teen with headphones “My mom texted ‘love you.’” Simple things. Real things. Things we forget to notice.

Then the bus driver, Linda, a woman with kind eyes and a voice like warm gravel, started it. As people boarded, she’d call out, “Welcome! What’s your one good thing today?” At first, folks stared. Then they’d chuckle. “Got my laundry done!” “Saw a squirrel do a backflip!” The bus stopped feeling like a metal box on wheels. Felt like… home.

Jessica noticed the change in me. “You’re humming, Arnold,” she said one night, stirring soup. “Haven’t heard that in years.” I told her about Maya, about Linda, about the delivery guy who now brings her coffee every morning. Jessica squeezed my hand. “You found your garage again,” she whispered.

It spread beyond the bus. At the grocery store, the cashier asked the lady ahead of me, “One good thing today?” The lady beamed “My arthritis didn’t act up!” At the library, a librarian started a “Good Thing” board. Kids wrote notes “Made a friend!” “Learned to ride my bike!” No fridge. No tools. No coats. Just… words. Just seeing each other.

Last week, a letter came. From Maya. She’s starting college in the fall, first in her family. “That bus question,” she wrote, “it was the only thing that got me through my mom’s chemo last winter. When I felt like giving up, I’d think, What’s one good thing? Sometimes it was just… your voice asking. Thank you for seeing me.”

Jessica read it with me. We held hands at the kitchen table, the silence now warm, not empty.

People say the world’s broken. Maybe it is. But fixing it doesn’t always need money or tools. Sometimes it just needs someone brave enough to ask, “What’s one good thing today?” And someone else brave enough to answer.

Start small. Ask someone. Anyone. You might just give them the strength to ask the next person. That’s how the light gets in. That’s how we remember, we’re never really alone.”

While this story may be apocryphal,  it offers a good point.  What can you do to make a difference? To encourage someone?  To brighten another person’s day?  To add value to their life?  And to add  value to your life?

BTW,  What’s one good thing that happened today?