By Zofia Dove
It was during COVID that I decided to show, indirectly, what a wonderful multicultural society we have here in our beautiful province of Manitoba.
I decided to visit three local stores, each owned and run by people from different cultural backgrounds.
Being an immigrant to Canada myself, I understand what it means to find food that tastes like home – food made the way our mothers made it. It means so much.
When we eat traditional meals, the food not only nourishes our bodies; it uplifts our spirits and fills our hearts with love. The food of our childhood reminds us of family, friends, gatherings, laughter, camaraderie, and the people we loved. Food is so much more than nourishment. It is part of our human experience.
Do you remember your favourite childhood meals? Who made them? Who did you share them with? What were the occasions when you had them? What feelings come back when you remember?
After immigrating to Canada, I missed my mother’s cooking. I searched for the same ingredients and spices so I could cook and bake the traditional Polish dishes she had made. It wasn’t only about pleasing my taste buds. It nourished something deeper in me.
And when I cooked those familiar dishes, I wanted to share them not only with my family, but also with friends and Canadian colleagues at workplace potlucks.
Knowing that people from other cultures have similar connections to food and memories, I chose three stores to visit and made short videos about each one.
The first was a grocery store owned by an Indian man. He imported ingredients and spices for the Indian community, but his customers also included people from African countries who came to find the foods and spices familiar to them.
The second was owned by a woman from Pakistan. Her store offered ingredients, spices, and foods from Pakistan, the Middle East, and across Asia.
The last was an Italian store owned by two women. They offered authentic Italian and Southern European ingredients, as well as ready-to-eat Italian food.
I posted the three videos on Facebook.
Then something happened that I never expected.
After I posted the final video, featuring the Italian store, a woman sent me a friend request. Being cautious about whose requests I accept, I checked how we were connected. I discovered that we were connected through the two Italian women I had interviewed.
I accepted the request, and almost immediately received a private message.
It turned out I had met this woman years earlier, but I had completely forgotten our brief encounter.
She reminded me that one day we had been standing in line for coffee. We were strangers, yet I started talking to her.
Only then did I remember.
I had been standing behind her and somehow sensed that she was going through a difficult time.
Perhaps it was her facial expression, her body language, or simply her lack of energy. I told her that I sensed she was struggling.
I also told her, at that time, that I had been through difficult times myself and that, eventually, everything passes.
The wheel of fortune turns.
At the time, I had no idea what those few words would mean to her.
Now, years later, she wrote to me that those seemingly insignificant words had given her hope, uplifted her, and given her the strength to live another day.
I never saw her again after that coffee-shop encounter. I didn’t know what happened in her life afterward, or whether my words had made any difference. The truth is, I had completely forgotten that brief conversation.
She hadn’t.
Because of that experience, she made a promise to herself to pay kindness forward. She told me that ever since, she has encouraged people whenever she can and looked for opportunities to help others.
Think about that.
A conversation I had long forgotten had stayed with her.
And through her, those few words may have indirectly reached countless people I will never meet and may never know about.
That is the mystery of small things.
We rarely know where they go.
We often underestimate the power of what we say and do. We imagine that making a difference requires wealth, influence, or power.
Sometimes it requires none of those things.
Sometimes it requires only noticing another human being and having the courage to respond with sincerity.
Her message came back to me at exactly the right time.
I had been wondering whether anything I say or do actually makes a difference. And just when I needed the answer, it came to me.
Life is truly magical when we pay attention.
Her story reminded me once again to be intentional about using my voice to “change the world” if only the world of a one person. She reminded me that encouragement and kindness are gifts we already carry within us.
They cost nothing.
They require no special occasion.
They simply require us to make the decision – the choice – to share them.
Just last week, while leaving a grocery store, I noticed an elderly woman. I stopped and told her how elegant she looked.
She smiled and said,“Thank you. You made my day.”
It took only a few seconds.
No money. No preparation. Just the willingness to say what I genuinely saw.
And perhaps that is all it takes.
We often think, I have no time. I don’t want to be late. I’m in a hurry.
And sometimes, of course, we truly are. But perhaps once in a while, we can pause for a few seconds and ask ourselves:
What if this moment matters?
What if the person in front of us needs something we can give without costing us anything?
If you want to make a difference, don’t wait for the perfect opportunity or imagine that your contribution has to be extraordinary.
Be sincere.
Be attentive.
Be willing to pause, even when you’re busy, and speak because your words matter.
But make sure you mean what you say. People can sense pretence. After all, we all have a B.S. detector.
Never underestimate what may seem insignificant.
We may forget the moment while someone else carries it for years.
We may never know what our words set in motion.
And that is the mystery—and the beauty—of small things.
So the next time you think, “It’s only a small thing. What difference could it possibly make?”
Remember:
You may never know whose life your small act is changing.
You may never know how far your words will travel.
That doesn’t mean they didn’t matter.
It means we don’t always get to see the impact.
So let’s practice kindness.
In a world that can sometimes feel overwhelmed by negativity, division, anger, and indifference, kindness may be one of the simplest—and most powerful—antidotes we have.
And the beautiful thing is, it is already within all of us.
It is free to give.
Give it generously.
Zofia Dove is a professional keynote speaker, author and producer, host and director of series “ReDISCOVERING the beauty of Manitoba, Canada”.