Posts Tagged ‘random acts of kindness’
Blessings, Grace and Thanksgiving
When we receive blessings for no apparent reason, this is grace. When we give of ourselves for no apparent reason, this too is grace. When we offer kindness and understanding instead of digging in and bitterly proving our way, we invite those blessings that one day we will so desperately need. When we practice “random acts of kindness” or love those who we find it difficult to love, grace finds us.
So on Thanksgiving Day, we are reminded that so much has been given to us–our blessings. So much, as well, has been given to us just because of where we were born. When you think of it, our prosperity was built upon generations of hard work and, sometimes, on the backs of others. But we sometime forget something that prosperity is not what we own, bequeathed or earned. Prosperity is what we give away. We are prosperous when we make more room, say in our wallet, our house and our heart, and give. When we do, we always find that something greater fills that void.
Happy Thanksgiving
Posted on Wednesday, November 25th, 2009 | No Comments »
“Just begin–one, one, one.”
My Mom taught me compassion. I’m sure yours did too. It wasn’t just what she said, but it was what she did. In her small way she responded to the pain of others and understood their disappointments. She saw disappointments and struggles growing up during the Great Depression. She saw hardships and knew that, for the most part, everyone tried their best–then and now, but that we all don’t come from the same place and we all don’t have the same opportunities. We just don’t. Some of us get a head start. I know I did.
Mom showed me in real ways her empathy and compassion for people she didn’t know. She helped Native Americans as they suffered at the hands of injustice. Mom hasn’t a drop of American Indian blood in her, be she felt the bloodstream of their lives drain from what was rightfully their legacy. She opened her heart to attempt to feel an ounce of their pain. As she did, so did I.
If we can step away from that arrogant layer of ego we all have, and judge no one, we may begin to feel the pain and the joy of someone else. We may choose to help instead of fortifying the barricades that we hide behind as we blame others for all our ills. We all need a little help from time to time–you’ve needed some help.
When asked about compassion, Mother Teresa said, “…I can only love one person at a time–just one, one, one. So you begin. I begin–I pick up one person. Maybe if I didn’t pick up that one person, I wouldn’t have picked up forty-two thousand… . The same thing in your church, your community. Just begin–one, one, one.”
The Dalai Lama brings it home in a real personal way when he says, “If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.”
Posted on Sunday, October 11th, 2009 | No Comments »
Offering a Hand
I was with my wife, Kristin, and my twin eight year old girls today at the county dump. Well, you can get free mulch there–can you blame me? Four kids on my salary? Anyway, we loaded several huge unwieldy plastic barrels of free, but high quality mulch, and I had to somehow get my arms around each and lift them three feet up and into our mini-van. So I squatted using my legs, not my back, to lift each barrel. As my arms reached around the first barrel there was nothing to cling to. In my head I was searching for an answer on how to do this or maybe even a miracle– well, maybe not a miracle but maybe an adrenalin rush like I never experienced before.
Just then, I heard a voice next to me. “Need some help?” These barrels were heavy, I mean h-e-a-v-y. Simple words, I thought, for a not so simple task.
I turned and saw a man about my age– but I’m bad with ages– and said, “Sure, if you don’t mind.” I had done this thing before but thought this was not the time to be so proud.
We all need some help sometime.
This stranger helped me lift, with ease, all the barrels. It was that simple. When done, we simultaneously stuck out our hands and we introduced ourselves. Oh, I then said, “thanks so much; have a great day.” Well….
Anthony drove away as did we.
I’ll never see him again, but he left an indelible imprint on my mind. Yes, people have reached out to me in the past, and I have to them. But for some reason, this event seemed to truly resonate. It felt like I was being rewarded for something and maybe, in some way I was. But maybe not. Maybe this was an action that was to remind me about the kindness of others and maybe I was long overdue. For whatever reason, I was awed. He did not know my religion, my politics nor my mental wellbeing, but he offered a hand. A hand to help. Don’t we all need that–sometime?
Anthony inspired me and it is as simple as that. Now I want to inspire others in the same way.
Thanks, Anthony.
Posted on Friday, April 10th, 2009 | 1 Comment »