(from 2/12/2009)
Today I had a sweet reminder of how a small act of kindness can make someones day. I was moping around feeling a bit frustrated with my landlord for being "not nice" about the way they handled my apartment deposit/refund. Then , I didn't hear back about a few different job interviews, etc, etc, etc, so I went out for a walk. When I came back home, there was a package from a jewelry designer that I had sent a bracelet to for repair.
Weeks ago, I had emailed to ask if she would be able to repair it for me and had told her that I was in the middle of a job interview when it broke and the beads flew all over the room. She promptly wrote back and said, "Go ahead and send it back and I’ll repair it." "I hope you got the job!". I then sent the broken bracelet with a note that said how I appreciated her willingness to repair it, as I had purchased it some years back but it is my favorite. I also said “I love your stuff." "When I get my career back on track, I'm buying your peace earrings for everyone I know!”.
So, today I received a package in the mail with my repaired bracelet, looking like new, and tucked inside the envelope was another little bag. Inside that bag was a pair of peace sign earrings! I have never met this woman, but her little gesture of kindness felt like a huge hug and immediately made me burst into tears. She didn't write anything. Just slipped them into the package! It wouldnt have mattered what it was....but that single thoughtful act reminded me of a very important truth. Being nice makes a difference!
To some, it may seem silly, but it is this sort of thing that I believe gets people through the day some days.... and it is exactly what I base my personal value system on when it comes to serving/helping others. In these times when things are so out of focus for so many, it's hard to be nice some days...but in my heart, I believe that it is what will get us through. Imagine, if every one took the time to do a little something nice for someone every day!
In case you were wondering ......
I don’t know about you, but for months now, every time I turn on the television, or read the news online, it’s more of the same. People losing jobs, losing their homes, rising unemployment rates, dwindling savings accounts, suicide, death, divorce, addiction, homelessness and more and more and more and more. Oh, and more.
I have always helped others for a living and am a compassionate person. I have also always believed in the power of positive thinking. You would think that I, of all people, would be able to avoid being a victim! But, this year, when I experienced changes that would lead to months of unemployment with no hope in sight, right smack dab in the middle of the worst jobless rate in my adult lifetime, I became a slave to gloom and doom.
I sat in my apartment at the computer, day after day, scouring the news for some stories of hope, some glimmer of possibility that things were looking up, only to be brought deeper into the black hole of the medias love affair with our "hard times in America". Please understand that I was already ripe from years of war and the shock and awe tactics of the previous administration, so it didn’t take much to push me over the edge.
One day while crying for the hundredth time while watching yet another story of the effects of a company closing…. it occurred to me that I was sick and tired of buying the crap that the media was feeding me. I decided in that moment that from now on, I was only going to read good news.
I do understand that people are hurting and need to tell their stories. It’s healing. As a community of caring people, we generally want to listen. But with so much bad news, our compassion has gotten the best of us. I believe that we need to shift the focus of our attention to what’s good and get a healthy perspective back!
That day, I vowed to start looking for the beautiful things in every situation and shifted my thinking toward gratitude. As you can imagine, I soon found that when I looked for the "good things", I found plenty of them. That’s the reason for this blog. I want to create an antidote to the slow poisoning of our spirits happening as we breathe in the daily media offerings fueled by the crisis we are facing in our country. I want to do it by telling our good stories. We need them now, more than ever.
I have always helped others for a living and am a compassionate person. I have also always believed in the power of positive thinking. You would think that I, of all people, would be able to avoid being a victim! But, this year, when I experienced changes that would lead to months of unemployment with no hope in sight, right smack dab in the middle of the worst jobless rate in my adult lifetime, I became a slave to gloom and doom.
I sat in my apartment at the computer, day after day, scouring the news for some stories of hope, some glimmer of possibility that things were looking up, only to be brought deeper into the black hole of the medias love affair with our "hard times in America". Please understand that I was already ripe from years of war and the shock and awe tactics of the previous administration, so it didn’t take much to push me over the edge.
One day while crying for the hundredth time while watching yet another story of the effects of a company closing…. it occurred to me that I was sick and tired of buying the crap that the media was feeding me. I decided in that moment that from now on, I was only going to read good news.
I do understand that people are hurting and need to tell their stories. It’s healing. As a community of caring people, we generally want to listen. But with so much bad news, our compassion has gotten the best of us. I believe that we need to shift the focus of our attention to what’s good and get a healthy perspective back!
That day, I vowed to start looking for the beautiful things in every situation and shifted my thinking toward gratitude. As you can imagine, I soon found that when I looked for the "good things", I found plenty of them. That’s the reason for this blog. I want to create an antidote to the slow poisoning of our spirits happening as we breathe in the daily media offerings fueled by the crisis we are facing in our country. I want to do it by telling our good stories. We need them now, more than ever.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Julie! This is such a great idea and an awesome blog!! I'll email you a story soon. It's so true that we can shift our focus from negative to positive easily if we simply put our mind to it. And acts of niceness come with habit,too...just like changing what we eat or how active we are. I'm going to share this with my students. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteA co-worker went out to get a lunch one day last week. She purchased her sandwich and was driving back to the office to eat it when she had to stop for a red light. There at the stoplight was a man holding a sign; "Out of work-Hungry-Will work for food." Patty looked at her sandwich and looked back at the man. She rolled down her car window and offered her lunch to the man. "Thank you so much. God bless you!" were his words to her. She pulled away from the stoplight and looked in her rearview mirror to see the man eating to live...........not living to eat.
ReplyDelete