The other day my wife and I decided to go grocery shopping. Yes, this is what passes for fun with married couples with five kids. Usually, I can count on our weekly shopping trip to be an hour free of bickering over what channel to watch, or someone “borrowing” someone else’s clothes without asking. Ahhh… my blessed shopping trip.

The trip to the store went as planned. My wife and I casually strolled up and down each aisle, stopping now and then to discuss possible meals for the week and looking at this season’s produce. Yes, we were enjoying our quiet time, that is, until we came to check out. There he was — Larry. Larry was running the only available checkout line. I could immediately tell that going through that checkout would take time from me that I would never get back and possibly years off of my life. You see, I could tell right away that Larry was a vampire. No, not the cute sparkly kind like the tweens read about in Twilight, Larry was an energy vampire. His posture was slouched, his facial expressions were dour, and Larry moved slower than molasses ‘n January, as my grandmother would say.

Anyone that knows me well knows that I am a huge fan of old-time barbell and fitness. I collect all kinds of books, magazines, and memorabilia from the 1920s, ’30s, and ’40s. Back then, Larry would be said to lack “vitality.” Vitality was the term used to describe the energy and vigor that every healthy person displayed on a daily basis. Worse still, Larry not only lacked vitality, but he seemed to take that of others around him. Larry was a black vortex of energy.

Against my better judgment, I went to Larry’s checkout line. My wife and I stared longingly at the other lines that made progress. It seemed that young people that had not been yet beaten down by life ran all of the lines except ours. Don’t get me wrong; I am not incapable of empathy. Perhaps Larry was having a bad day or had received news that had him down. I get it. Sometimes life hands you terrible cards. It is at that point; however, you have a decision to make. You can choose to either move forward, making the best of poor circumstances, or you can fold, curling up into a little ball, rocking back and forth, tuning out the world.

So, my challenge to you this week is to be a giver of “vitality,” not a vampire. Smile, brighten someone else’s day, hold the door for a stranger, etc. Do anything positive that will put energy into the world and make it just a little better. Imagine what the world would be like if we all made it a priority to be positive, kind, and helped each other without being asked? Whether positive or negative attitudes are contagious!