Great people create great acts of kindness. ~ Miguel de Cervantes
Most of us will never make headlines. Most of the good we do will go unnoticed. It doesn’t matter, Each of our small acts of kindness makes a difference for somebody. Today, when I leaving the gym, one of the front desk workers was leaving at the same time. I said to her as we passed, “I hope you have the best day ever.” She looked at me and said, “I hope so.” I responded, “You deserve it.” She squeezed my hand and that was it. I wondered what was going on in her life. I didn’t know. I knew she needed a good day. I hope she got one.
I consider myself blessed. I had a wonderful mom. I remember the walks down the railroad tracks to my uncle’s house three miles away. We’d stop on the way and pick wild grapes and wild blackberries on the way to his house and the way home. When she cooked the macaroni for Sunday dinner, she’d always call me in from the pallor to test if the mostaccioli were done; of course they were. And, she’d always put a bit of her homemade sauce on it. I have lots of good memories about my mom and they all make me smile. Heaven got a good one when she went home.
Sometimes our light goes out but is blown into flame by another human being. Each of us owes deepest thanks to those who have rekindled this light. ~ Albert Schweitzer
NOTE: It’s a human experience to get knocked down. Most times we can bounce back. Every once in a while it’s tough to bounce back and you wonder if it is all worth it. Then, in moments of deepest despair something happens. Something you didn’t expect. It might occur in the form of a call, a text or an email. It might be a colleague or supervisor stepping into your space. Everything changes in that moment. It is as if new life was breathed into you. Some may call these moments miracles or grace or luck. It happens. I’ve had a number of them in my life. I didn’t see them coming, they kicked down my door and walked in. I’ve learned, we have the power within us to be the source of new life for other people. A kind word, a kind action, the simple act of listening thoughtfully all carry the power of infusing new life into another.
You can always give something, even if it is only kindness. ~ Anne Frank
“And God said, Love your enemy, & I obeyed Him & loved myself.” ~Khalil Gibran
Kind hearts are the gardens, Kind thoughts are the roots, Kind words are the flowers, Kind deeds are the fruits, Take care of your garden And keep out the weeds, Fill it with sunshine, Kind words, and Kind deeds. ~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
NOTE: Kindness – Kind acts and kind words are humble, transforming, free, and transferrable. They’re usually not headline worthy. They don’t scream and shout for attention. They turn the darkness into sunshine. I’ve been the recipient of many kindnesses in my life. Each kindness reminds me there are many more good people in this world than the nasty kind. Each kindness touches me in such a way that I want to share the joy the kindness brought by paying it forward. Each kindness reminds me life is worth living.
Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing. ~ Mother Teresa
NOTE: I go for a walk each evening after I finish my dinner, clear the table, clean up the mess I’ve made, and turn on the dish washer. It’s a gratitude walk. I give thanks for each of things I am grateful for that I witnessed during my day while I walk. I can’t help but smile as my list grows. I’ll see other people walking, I give them a smile and a “Have a great evening” greeting. Most don’t have a smile when I see them, but when I give them my smile and greeting, they smile and return a greeting. For a brief moment, they let their troubles go. For a brief moment, their world is a bit kinder. It’s easy to do, all one has to do is give a smile and a greeting to bring a bit of sunshine into someone else’s life.
NOW must I these three praise —
Three women that have wrought
What joy is in my days:
One because no thought,
Nor those unpassing cares,
No, not in these fifteen
Many-times-troubled years,
Could ever come between
Mind and delighted mind;
And one because her hand
Had strength that could unbind
What none can understand,
What none can have and thrive,
Youth’s dreamy load, till she
So changed me that I live
Labouring in ecstasy.
And what of her that took
All till my youth was gone
With scarce a pitying look?
How could I praise that one?
When day begins to break
I count my good and bad,
Being wakeful for her sake,
Remembering what she had,
What eagle look still shows,
While up from my heart’s root
So great a sweetness flows
I shake from head to foot.
You smile upon your friend to-day,
To-day his ills are over;
You hearken to the lover’s say,
And happy is the lover.
‘Tis late to hearken, late to smile,
But better late than never;
I shall have lived a little while
Before I die for ever.
