There is something intensely satisfying about helping other people. Being kind, considering others, going out of one鈥檚 way to make another person鈥檚 day or experience a wee bit brighter undoubtedly leaves a lasting impression.
The ripples we create by gently tossing just one pebble into the pond of humanity are so far-reaching it鈥檚 impossible to calculate the impact.
My grandmother demonstrated generosity in ways that were important to her, primarily by taking care of her family in small but thoughtful ways, and I realized at a young age that this was a quality I wanted to emulate.
It鈥檚 a virtue I hold in the highest regard.
Even on a fixed income, my Oma provided her grandkids with a generous starter fund for buying our first cars.
She was happy to lend us money for important purchases like grad dresses or university textbooks. And as the family matriarch, she took great pride and joy in paying for dinners the handful of times our entire clan would come together.
She always had copious return address labels from the many charities she supported. She reveled in watching opera on PBS and made a point of supporting the station during their campaign drives. It was actually important to her. She would note it on her calendar to make sure she didn鈥檛 miss it. When she would do her weekly baking, she always prepared care packages for her family when they visited.
While these bits are just pieces of a larger snapshot, and by no means unique, they remind me of what it is to see a person take pleasure in caring for others.
And this can easily extend to those with whom we are not currently 鈥渋n a relationship.鈥� People we meet on the street 鈥� and yes, that may include people actually living on the street, the exasperated mom in the grocery store, or those who need our help halfway around the world.
It could be as simple as ordering an extra sandwich or coffee for the fellow sitting outside the restaurant, or stopping to ask the woman in the wheelchair struggling for a book just outside of her reach if she鈥檇 like assistance.聽
Asking 鈥淐an I help you?鈥� makes no assumption, leaves people with their dignity intact, and is a comforting gesture for anyone who may be feeling taxed. And let鈥檚 admit, when we are taxed outwardly, we are often taxed inwardly.
And while all generosity is most certainly a step in the right direction, it鈥檚 important that we are able to feel the compassion behind the gesture and not do it to prop ourselves up or feel better about other less generous things we do in our lives.
A great measure of this is if you can do your act of kindness 鈥� whether it is random or calculated 鈥� and not feel the need to tell anyone else about it.
I recently read: 鈥淚f you鈥檙e helping someone and expecting something in return, you are doing business, not kindness.鈥�
The perfect yardstick to go by.
So this week, why not do three acts of kindness鈥� and don鈥檛 get found out?
