When I was a young girl, about the age of kindergarten or first grade, I lived and went to school in the Boston area. In school I struggled making friends, I’m not sure exactly why. There was a young girl who was inviting all the girls in our class to her birthday party. Well, I was so excited, told my Mama, and we bought her a really nice jump rope. Back then that was a nice little gift and the best that we could afford.
The day of her birthday came. I dressed as pretty as I could, since we were fairly poor. I stood at the young girl’s door alone, with my gift in hand, and knocked. The door opened and I could see all the girls playing. The birthday girl ran up to me, grabbed the gift from my hand, then screamed at me, “you weren’t invited!” as she tried to close the door in my face. I stood there shocked, hurt, and crying. Her mother stopped the door from being closed, invited me in and gave me cake and ice cream while she sat with me. When I was done eating and the tears had dried up some, I vaguely remember that the mother walked me to the door and said she was sorry. I left, still hurt, and tearful, never having the opportunity to play with the others.
The young girl’s meanness has stayed with me all these years. From that time on I have worked hard being kind to others the best I can.
This week I am sharing my thoughts on kindness, more specifically kindness towards others and paying it forward. This is inline with last week’s writing. When my children were young I would drop them off at school. As often as could I would tell them, “ Be good to yourself, kind to others, pray always, and do it for God”. At some point, as they got a little older, I tacked on the end of that statement, “and focus on your education and not on social drama”. (There is way too much drama in this world.)
There have been a whole spectrum of people who have crossed my path. Some I remember more than others, both good and bad. I am sure you have had similar experiences. You may or may not realize it, but these are the people and who influence and/or events that have helped mold us to who we are today. We still meet people who have an effect on our beliefs and who we are today.
As the years have gone on I have come up with a little motto that I have acquired from someone else. That motto is, “Kill them with kindness”. I suppose “kill” is not a good word. It might ought to be “Shower them with kindness”. I cannot tell you how many times that has made a difference in a given situation.
Acts of kindness is never a bad thing. When I am on the receiving end of a kind act, I either try to return the kindness or “pay it forward”. Here is a short list of simple acts of kindness:
A smile and a nod towards someone who appears to be having a bad day
Say “Good morning” to someone so as to recognize their presence
Pray for someone
Open and hold a door for someone
Leave an unsolicited unsigned thank you note, maybe with a piece of chocolate or other tiny treat
With the fall and winter coming, maybe donate some coats, hats, mittens, socks, or shoes to folks who give them out for free to others
If you are able, pay for someone’s groceries, meal, a cup of coffee, or gas
Invite someone to Mass, maybe they have not attended church in a very long time, if at all
Visit someone in the hospital or someone who is housebound.
Talk kindly with or listen to someone when they are having a tough time
Send flowers or a basket of fruit
Invite someone over for dinner
Volunteer at a homeless shelter and/or kitchen
Read to someone who is bed bound, maybe a good story or scriptures
Offer to pick up someone’s prescriptions when they are unable to
Help with some household and/or yard chores
Say “Thank you”, show your appreciation for someone
There are so many ways to show kindness towards others. It makes a difference for them and for you. Try it and let me know how it goes. If you can think of other acts of kindness send them to me and I will post it for others. If you catch someone in an act of kindness, share that as well. If someone shows an act of kindness to you, give thanks, and pay it forward.
Maybe, just maybe we can make the world around us a kinder place to live.
Until next time, may the Peace of Christ be with you always.
Nice post especially just before the holidays! Sometimes you just need to be deliberate in showering others with kindness. We did that at work for a coworker who was going through some serious challenges in life. He gained such a sense of belonging that after you could see him hold his head higher. It’s like he knew we were all there for him. Not everyone knew the situation. We were respectful and kept it that way. We just had an opportunity to love on him. It had a huge impact on him. He is also one of the kindest persons I know.
It was during a staff Christmas party. When staff would pick their gift there were random extra cards or even the gift itself would have his name on it. Simple things like gift cards for gas, food, or shopping along with words of Christmas cheer.
Two other things I like to do is let people talk. It can be healing and more to them.
The other one is to make eye-to-eye contact and genuinely smile when giving them just a smile or well-wishes like ‘hello’, ‘good morning’, etc.
Thanks for your post. It’s such a good reminder to express God’s love through even the simplest of things. As you said, it is much needed these days, especially around the holidays.
Deliberately blessed to deliberately bless.
Blessings!!!
C