Sometimes in life you come across something that stays with you and changes who you are. It doesn't just change you momentarily, it changes you permanently, and through some hidden alchemical reaction taking place in the invisible places between your neurons, you are never the same again.
For me it was a quote I heard 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 needed it most.
Think of a child. 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 someone who was kind to you and what it meant to you? I sure do.
There was Mr and Mr's Barazynski who 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 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 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 Sutton Group - Quantum Realty Inc., Oakville, Ontario and welcomes your real estate inquiries. To contact her, visit www.Oakville-BurlingtonHomes.com
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great post! I love the comment about being kind because everyone you meet is fighting a great battle. That is so true and makes us less self absorbed than we may otherwise have been.