When I flip on the news in the afternoons, I sometimes get discouraged because it's filled with senseless murders, and crimes, and terrorism, people fighting one another, and cruelty. It feels somedays like no one loves or cares for anybody else out there because no one is really talking about the person who always smiles when they bring you your coffee, or that teacher who took time out of their lives to come and tutor you for weeks until you understood the material, or your dad who drove 3 hours to bring you some homemade chicken soup when you were sick. These are the unsung heroes of this world who never seem to get the recognition they truly deserve for being who they are, for loving with an open heart, for seeing the goodness in others, even when no one else could see it. Just simple acts of kindess and appreciation for these people can mean the entire world to them.
Six years ago, there was a particularly rough stretch of my life. My grandfather had just died and I was super stressed at work. Everything was crashing down around me and I was running on empty. I remember one of my employees needed to meet with me, and I was thinking, what now, what new issue is this, and when she walked in, she simply hugged me and said, "thank you for all that you're doing here. We know how many hours you're putting in, and what you're doing behind the scenes for us, and we appreciate it and you." I was floored. I really wanted to cry. In that very moment, I needed that more than I needed more sleep or an extra day in the week to get more done. Other than make me feel really good, I took in that moment later and home. I took her kind words to heart and I asked myself what can I do to show those in my life the same kindness that was given to me. So I sat down and chose five people in my life that had truly been a support, shared some laughter, gone above and beyond for me, and I wrote them each some rather lengthy letters letting them know what all they meant to me. Some of them I hadn't seen in years, so I didn't expect to hear anything back, but the response was so quick, and quite the emotional one for them and for me.
There are so many people either that you know personally or that you don't know, who feel like they don't exist, or that they give and give and nothing good ever happens for them, or people who just really need a friend or some words of encouragement. I urge you to be part of the good that is in this world and to pay it forward in some way. It doesn't have to be big or extravagant, but just do what's in your heart for someone else. Let someone in your life know they impacted you in some positive way and that you really and truly are grateful for what they've said or done or both. We get a finite time on this planet, and you don't want to wait until someone is dead and gone to tell them you appreciated them.
Go do some good in this world and pay it forward...
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Well said! You never know what someone else is going through in their personal life, and the simplest of kind actions or even just a genuine smile and moment of eye contact can turn someones day around.
Thank you for this. I am paying it forward.