An Alabama man’s act of kindness has gone viral on social media, prompting people around the country to be more compassionate to others.

Jamario Howard was dining with his friends, JaMychol Baker and Tae Knight, at Brad’s Bar-B-Que in Oxford, Ala., when Howard noticed a woman eating by herself. He decided to strike up a conversation with her and learned that her husband had passed away.

The following day would have been their 60th wedding anniversary. Howard decided to invite the woman to dine with them and said the four had a great time that left him reflecting on the importance of being kind and not taking anyone for granted.

He shared his thoughts on Facebook, which quickly went viral. “

The point in this is always be kind and be nice to people,” Howard said in the post. “You never know what they are going through. This woman changed my outlook on life and how I look at other people. Everyone has a story so do not judge! And people i can’t stress this enough. GO SEE YOUR MOM AND YOUR GRANDPARENTS. They miss you!!”

The post has since been shared more than 40,000 times, garnered 162,000 likes and received more than 14,000 comments from people all over the world.