Sometimes in life you meet someone who changes your life and through some hidden alchemical reaction taking place deep within your cells, you are never the same again.
I heard a quote once, possibly about 7 years ago, "Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle".
No one seems to know who was the original sayer of that quote.
Some say it was Plato and some say it was someone else. It matters not, for it's an eternal piece of wisdom that holds true no matter what era the human race finds itself in.
Kindness softens a heart and gives hope where perhaps before there was none.
On a daily basis, as you go about your business, you are interacting with many people. Some you barely speak to, some you have a longer conversation with and some you don't speak to at all.
Make no mistake though, you have touched each of their lives, whether you spoke or not. Oftentimes even a glance will affect someone who is at their wits end and drenched in desperation.
You never know when your kind smile and eyes will make all the difference in someone's life right when they need it most.
How often do we stop to think of the inherent power of words? The words that others direct towards us leave indelible marks upon our spirits and sometimes, may scar them for life. Likewise, the words we say to those around us have the ability to lift up the spirits who they are spoken to, or tear them down to gound zero minus 50.
Now where is this more evident than on the faces of children.
It breaks my heart to see a child with a worried or sad face.
Childhood should be a time of happiness and ease, however for millions of children the world over it is anything but.
Do you remember when you were a child and someone was kind to you?
When we are children, open and trusting, the words spoken to us have a greater effect than at any other time in our lives.
This time of year, when unwrapping my Christmas ornaments and memorabilia, I always pause to think of two people who greatly affected my life as a child.
Mr and Mr's Barazynski lived next door to us in Batawa, Ontario.
They were an elderly and lovely couple who's children had grown.
They seemed to dote on me and one day, when Christmas was approaching, they brought over some tiny figurines wrapped gently in cloth.
They were 'from the old country', they said and they thought that I might enjoy having them.
I gazed in wonder at the clay figurines which were hand-painted in muted tones, now dull with age and the oils of the many hands who had held them.
They seemed heavy in my tiny hands and my Mother thanked Mr and Mrs Barazynski while I stared in wonder at these small treasures, the remnants of an old nativity scene.
I felt so loved and so special at that moment.
To think they had thought of me and had brought these treasures to my house to give them to me. I will never forget their kindness nor their soft smiles, kind words and gentle eyes.
Think of the difference you alone can make in one tiny life or in the lives of all of those you meet daily. Just a kind word of encouragement or admiration recognizing something special about the person goes a long way and will never be forgotten.
©2009JoSmith
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Jo-Anne Smith, the author of this article, is a REALTOR® with Brekland Realty Group, Oakville, Ontario and welcomes your real estate inquiries. To contact her, visit www.Oakville-BurlingtonHomes.com
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Great sentiment for this market and in general. I always try to remember to say thank you. So simple, but important.