Reflections

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  1. Presley Gleason
    PMoney$
    1 month ago

    When I was feeling left out in Geology, my friends David and Margaret told me that they were just glad I was there! It made me feel so good and loved!

  2. T
    Tina2024
    2 months ago

    I experienced a random act today. I made a lateral move at my organization giving me an opportunity to leverage my skills. It’s been an interesting transition. She showed up at my office today with a card and a plant. It was a bit of a walk and she had to have someone escort her to my office. This made my day and encouraged me.

  3. Robin Ann
    Robin Ann
    2 months ago

    When I was going thru my divorce (over 20 yrs ago) and found out my ex husband lost his job so I wouldn’t have child support. It was Christmas time, my coworker submitted my name for X-mas support funds. I was completely shocked but so very grateful

    1. L
      Leslie Crevar
      1 month ago

      Wow that is a good one ! Thanks for sharing!

  4. Carol Ann Conner
    Carol
    2 months ago

    Sometimes when you are kind you don’t know how powerful a difference it will make but kindness like joy always makes a difference! Thought you might find this poem a good meditation on kindness.

    KINDNESS by Naomi Shibab Nye
    Before you know what kindness really is
    you must lose things,
    feel the future dissolve in a moment
    like salt in a weakened broth.
    What you held in your hand,
    what you counted and carefully saved,
    all this must go so you know
    how desolate the landscape can be
    between the regions of kindness.
    How you ride and ride
    thinking the bus will never stop,
    the passengers eating maize and chicken
    will stare out the window forever.

    Before you learn the tender gravity of kindness,
    you must travel where the Indian in a white poncho
    lies dead by the side of the road.
    You must see how this could be you,
    how he too was someone
    who journeyed through the night with plans
    and the simple breath that kept him alive.

    Before you know kindness as the deepest thing inside,
    you must know sorrow as the other deepest thing.
    You must wake up with sorrow.
    You must speak to it till your voice
    catches the thread of all sorrows
    and you see the size of the cloth.

    Then it is only kindness that makes sense anymore,
    only kindness that ties your shoes
    and sends you out into the day to mail letters and purchase bread,
    only kindness that raises its head
    from the crowd of the world to say
    It is I you have been looking for,
    and then goes with you everywhere
    like a shadow or a friend.

    1. Joseph
      Joseph McCann
      2 months ago

      Thank you very much for that poem, Carol. Mind and heart food to ponder.

      1. Carol Ann Conner
        Carol
        2 months ago

        Joseph, you are most welcome.

  5. Barb C
    Barb C
    2 months ago

    My younger daughter and her fiance are in Florida right now. They went there for his cousin’s wedding. My mom brain questions the wisdom of going there in the face of hurricanes, of course. But now that they’re there, they were able to help his large extended family relocate north out of the direct path of Milton. They’re trying to convince all of them to get further away.

    1. Robin Ann
      Robin Ann
      2 months ago

      Hope they some how helped them. There is no gas and many are stuck on the highway trying to get out of florida

  6. Yram
    Yram
    2 months ago

    When people reach out to me/us.

    The other night our son was trying to show us the northern lights via zoom. It didn’t work but his thoughtfulness touched us.

    1. Robin Ann
      Robin Ann
      2 months ago

      How cute!

  7. Elizabeth H67151
    Elizabeth H
    2 months ago

    This reminds me of the question that Valarie Kaur is asking everyone this fall as she goes on her inspirational Revolutionary Love Tour: “When did an act of love change everything?”

    My husband has been in the hospital a few times over the past 15 years, and each time there have been many acts of kindness from friends as well as strangers that made a powerful difference. One time that sticks in my mind is when I was waiting in the hospital cafeteria line to get my supper, and when I came to pay, I broke down in tears. The lady who was the cashier stepped out from behind the cash register and gave me a hug. It really made a powerful difference to me to have this stranger show me love and care.

    1. Mary
      Mary Mantei
      2 months ago

      This woman/cashier was in the right place at that point in time, Elizabeth. Thank you for sharing this beautiful story.

    2. C
      Carly J
      2 months ago

      Im a big fan of Valerie Kaur’s- SEE NO STRANGER. Beautiful story that reflects her message.

  8. Jenifer
    Jenifer
    2 months ago

    For me, it’s when people reach out to check in on me. I have felt ignored and insignificant for majority of my life, so when someone sends me a message or gives me a call, I can’t help but feel so touched. It makes me realize that I matter to others and that I am thought of.

  9. Charlie T
    Charlie T
    2 months ago

    I have been the recipient of small acts of kindness and they changed my life. When everything was stripped away and I was scared and vulnerable,
    I was shown kindness and compassion. It gave me something to aim for, something to aspire to. When I made kindness my goal, much of the comparison and shame and regret, shifted a little.

  10. Patti
    sunnypatti
    2 months ago

    A neighbor let me come fill big jugs of water a few days after Helene hit our area. We had no running water, so his offering to us helped us in multiple ways. I really enjoyed talking to him as well. He was so nice!

  11. Carla
    Carla
    2 months ago

    A few weeks past, a woman completely forgot where she parked her car in a large downtown city where I work. After receiving help from an officer, she had to wait for her daughter to come from a nearby subway to give her a ride home. I decided to visit with her for a short time, as I could see how anxious she was. It wasn’t a chore to offer compassion and provide her with some support.

    1. Barb C
      Barb C
      2 months ago

      Your kindness mattered so much in those moments. This reminds me of the incident that really convinced my mom she needed to see a doctor for her memory.

      She got lost driving to the hairdresser she’d gone to for 25 years. She drove around and around and finally saw a phone booth (this was many years ago). She called the hairdresser, who asked Mom to describe what she could see around her. From that information the hairdresser could figure out where Mom was. She told Mom to stay put and called my dad, who came to get Mom. The hairdresser’s kindness helped Mom in a scary moment. I went to the doctor with Mom and it turned out she was developing vascular dementia.

      1. Mary
        Mary Mantei
        2 months ago

        I am so touched by your story, Barb. I can feel the emotions of each person here.

  12. Mary
    Mary Mantei
    2 months ago

    This past week, as I was recovering from Covid, my husband was out of town. It worked out well as he was not trying to avoid Covid, and I could have the whole house to myself. Our neighbors, brought dinner to me not one night, but two, and offered a third! Another neighbor left a beautiful bouquet of dahlias on my porch. So their kindness made me feel connected while being isolated. They also were a reminder of how to build a neighborhood.

  13. L
    Loc Tran
    2 months ago

    Yesterday, I went on my morning walk by myself. There was a lady name Lorey walking with her dog. She asked me why I wasn’t walking with Ngoc. I told her that it was cold for her. Then, Lorey asked me if I miss Ngoc, I said “Yes.” It goes to show how a random act of kindness no matter how small the gesture can make a difference.

  14. Ngoc Nguyen
    Ngoc Nguyen
    2 months ago

    A few days ago, I unintentionally found a website called FreeRice.com while searching for a platform to help expand my English vocabulary. Free Rice is developed by The United Nations World Food Programme, a program that helps the hungriest people in the world. The idea of the Free Rice website is that when users study vocabulary, the more correct answers they get in the vocabulary quiz, the more grains of rice will be donated to the program. Private donors match the users’ correct answers with the amount of rice for donations. Recalling the pictures of hungry people that I saw on TV truly touched my heart deeply as I read about Free Rice’s mission. It’s amazing that while I’m studying for myself, I’m also participating in such a meaningful program.
    Here is the website if you’re interested:
    https://play.freerice.com/categories

    1. Robin Ann
      Robin Ann
      2 months ago

      That’s very cool

    2. L
      Loc Tran
      2 months ago

      My Ngoc, what a great way to study. We’re earning knowledge while helping others.

  15. J
    John
    2 months ago

    Our neighbors across the street are frail and elderly (86 and 82 I think). She has had a bad back for a long time, and when she suspended her daily walk, my wife immediately offered to make them a hot meal. Ultimately, she now checks in with them and about every couple of weeks makes them a casserole or homemade soup. There is usually enough for 2 or 3 meals for each of them, and what they can’t eat right away, everything is freezable.
    The couples daughter visits almost daily, one of their sons lives with them, and works, and a third child lives near by. He works too. The kids have arranged for house cleaner service too.

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