Quote of the Day – Kindness

Someone referred to me as kind the other day and my initial reaction was “wow, I thought he loved me.”  Amazing how this world’s misuse of words and acts can change things (he does love me) . . . but this quote says it so well:

Genuine kindness is no ordinary act,

but a gift of rare beauty. 

- Sylvia Rosetti -

 

 

Is Kindness Fashionable? A Tuesday Quote

Ask yourself: Have you been kind today? Make kindness your modus operandi and change your world.  - Annie Lennox -

When I read this quote I made a face . . . wrinkled up nose, raised eye brows . . .  you get the picture.  Thought “oh, yuck . . . greeting card sentiment.”  Then I got that very familiar nudge to reevaluate.  I did so.

Seems, Jesus made kindness and acceptance His modus operandi and he changed the world.  Why not me?  I can’t really tell you if it by trying to be kind whether I felt it or not changed anyone’s day, but it did change my own.  There just might be something to this .. . .

 

*yes, the greeting card and envelope shown are my own design, original photography, etc.*

Giving Up Can Be J O Y Full

I don’t know about you but sometimes the challenges I’m facing seem WAY too big and when I’ve prayed every prayer and just don’t feel an ounce of strength left in me to fight, I find I need to give up.  I mean this in a different way than you may think.  What I’m reminded of here is the J O Y solution.

J esus

O thers

Y ourself

Sometimes we all, I think, need to cry and yet tears don’t come.  Wallowing in a pity party does nothing.  Go to Jesus, then surround yourself physically or spiritually (or both) with others who need your love.  This can be friends or family but it can also be complete strangers.  Reaching out doesn’t have to cost us financially or physically.  A phone call, a pat on the back, listening, holding a hand, and certainly prayer can be more valuable than anything else you would have considered.  Sometimes a smile, a nod, or a kind word from someone I do not even know has been life changing.

Do not be at all surprised if you discover that your own challenges seem lighter to carry or if the still small voice deep in your soul can suddenly be heard because you quieted your troubled spirit in this way by placing Jesus first, then others, then yourself.

Quote of the Day Saturday on KIndness

Unexpected kindness is the most powerful, least costly, and most underrated agent of human change. Kindness that catches us by surprise brings out the best in our natures.    – Bob Kerrey -

The Daily Post – A Different Kind of Holiday

I’m unique!  So are you!  Regardless of our cultural and spiritual beliefs and customs, I think deep down we all know that we are each ”different” from one another.  Lately, I have heard more negativity concerning being “different” than usual and so I think it’s time to turn a negative into a positive.  Please join me in celebrating a Different Kind of Holiday.  It seems fitting, I believe, to introduce this on a day when many of us celebrate Halloween, with its custom of creating unique costumes to wear and its custom of sharing treats with one another, whether people we know or people we do not.

I believe a “Different Kind of Holiday” should be one in which we do not seek to hide our differences, but rather celebrate them!  I believe our differences or uniqueness is a blessing and I further believe that we grow in so many good ways by embracing our authenticity.  Join me, will you?

On this day, I’d like us to:

• Dress in our own choice of fashion or custom
• Share our heart with those around us
• Truly listen to one another and accept one another’s uniqueness
• Seek to view the positive in one another – for we find it when we look for it
• I will dance to my own music and invite you to dance with me
• You will sing your own song and I will sing along with you.
• We will have a neighborhood block party and share our favorite dishes and all will try something new!
• We will celebrate community by actively participating in the lives of our neighbors in a positive way!
• You will present your unique ideas to me and I will listen with an open mind!
• I will offer my thoughts as well and you will truly listen and consider them.
• I have talents you may not have.  I will share them with you.
• You have talents I do not have and you will share them with me.

We so often speak of “the way life USED to be.”  My “Different Kind of Holiday” presents the “way life truly COULD be.”  Some may smirk and some will believe me naïve . . . but perhaps in your heart of hearts you may recognize, instead, a seed of hope?

A Different Kind of Holiday – Celebrate it today!

A Quote and Challenge For Wednesday

Try to make at least one person happy every day. If you cannot do a kind deed, speak a kind word. If you cannot speak a kind word, think a kind thought.   - Lawrence G. Lovasik -

Quote For Saturday – Kindness

We do not often know how our actions impact the lives of others . . . even a simple smile can change the world.  Here is a quote for today:

A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions, and the roots spring up and make new trees. The greatest work that kindness does to others is that it makes them kind themselves. – Amelia Earhart -

Does Anybody Care Anymore?

Perhaps the world little notes nor long remembers individual acts of kindness — but people do.

- Herm Albright -

 

This quote is at once both inspiring and troubling.  Imagine, if you will what life would be like it we truly did focus all we do on it achieving world-wide notice?  We have become a society which largely focuses on the big picture, large profits, fancy cars, the right neighborhoods, the fancy job titles, the fat paychecks, designer labels, and the list goes on and on . . .  when we have these things, LOTS of people notice.  We smile.  We feel proud.  When we do not have these things, we strive for them, we covet them.  We even get angry and blame others for our “bad luck.”  This made me think a bit. 

In the last few days:

• A friend, hearing my rake handle broke, said “here, I had an extra . . . don’t buy one.” 

 

• Knowing I suffer from allergies, another friend came over and spent his entire Saturday morning helping me with yard work.

 

• Knowing I am seeking provision, a friend called and said “hey, did you see that . . . are hiring?  It’s not listed in the help wanted so you might not have seen it.”

 

• I was tired as I walked into the school where I teach a writing class in an afterschool program a couple of hours a week.  I wasn’t motivated to be there.  As soon as I got there, a small child ran over and hugged me.

 

• A friend who is a very busy man realized I’d not emailed or text messaged him much recently and contacted me just to make sure everything was okay with me. 

Know what? That is just a small part of the kindnesses shown me in the last few days.  Not one of them will get someone a job promotion, put them on the front page of the news paper, or make the evening news.  Each one of them, however, brought me joy.  

There are so many simple things we can do not because we have to but simply to be kind.  A smile, a hug, an invitation to have a cup of tea, a pot of soup for a sick friend . . . none of these are difficult.  They will be remembered.  Best part?  When somebody asks “does anybody care anymore?” the answer will be YES!

Healing 101

 

It’s when we start working together that the real healing takes place…

 

 it’s when we start spilling our sweat, and not our blood.

- David Hume -

 

This quote from Hume speaks loud and clear.  Whether we are thinking of the world which is perpetually at war, bringing families back together, being a good neighbor, or leading people to the Lord. 

Whether we are talking about body, mind, or spirit, healing is all about love.  Spread some today, won’t you?

 

A Healthy Garden

The heart is like a garden. It can grow compassion or fear, resentment or love.

What seeds will you plant there?

- Jack Kornfield -