One day, a poor boy was selling goods from door to door. He did this to pay his way through school. Feeling cold & hungry, he reached into his pocket and found only a dime left. As he was hungry, he decided he would ask for a meal at the next house.
However, he lost his nerve when a lovely young woman opened the door. Instead of a meal he asked her for a drink of water. She thought he looked hungry & brought him a bun & a large glass of warm milk. As the boy ate the bun & drank the warm milk slowly, he said “How much do I owe you ?”
“You don’t owe me anything,” she replied. “Mother has taught us never to accept payment for a kindness.” He said “Then I thank you from my heart.”
As the boy Howard left the house, he not only felt stronger physically, but his faith in humanity was restored. He had been ready to give up & quit.
Many year’s later the same woman became critically ill. The local doctors were baffled. They finally sent her to the big city, where they called in various specialists to study her rare disease. A renowned specialist doctor was called in for consultation.
When he reviewed the details of the case, he became very interested & requested to be put on it. From that day on, he worked day and night on her case.
After a long struggle of with many close calls, the battle was won. The specialist requested the office to pass him the final bill to review for approval. He looked at it, scribbled something on the bill and sent it back to the office.
The bill was then sent to the woman’s room. She feared to open it, for she was sure it would take the rest of her life to pay off the bill. Finally she looked, and the words scribbled on her bill caught her eyes:
“Paid in full with one glass of milk ”
- Dr. Howard Kelly.
There is a saying that the best way to change the world is one person at a time, which of course means talking to a lot of people. But we all have that power within us to set the kindness dominoes in motion & start a ripple of kindness starting with one person. That in turn will go on to affect others. Before long we have numerous ripples branching out in all sorts of directions.
These acts can be as simple as paying someone a compliment, allowing someone out in front of you when driving, smiling or chatting to someone who is having a bad day, or even to spend a little time to pen them something (just like what I’m doing now) !!!
The best thing is all these gestures are free, and yet they can summon up happy chemicals that make us feel good about life. Kindness leads to lots of good things including compassion, happiness, future success, better relationships, improved self-esteem and good mental & physical health.
When we act kindly towards one person, that person is much more likely to be kinder towards others in the future.This creates a ripple effect of kindness. It starts as a single act, but then spreads outward affecting many more. It’s good to know that our acts of kindness don’t only affect the people we do nice things for, but many other people who we may never even come into contact with.
Every day, each & every one of us has the chance, and the choice to be kind and influence our world. And if enough people choose kindness, then it could tip the balance away from a world of continuous conflict to one of mutual co-operation.
‘No kind action ever stops with itself.
One kind action leads to another.
Good example is followed.
A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions, and the roots spring up and make new trees.
The greatest work that kindness does to others is that it makes them kind themselves’
- Amelia Earhart
At the end of our days, just remember this :
What will matter is not what you bought, but what you built;
not what you got, but what you gave.
What will matter is not your success,
but your significance.
What will matter is not what you learned,
but what you taught.
What will matter is every act of integrity,
compassion, courage or sacrifice that enriched, empowered or encouraged others.
What will matter is not your competence,
but your character.
What will matter is not how many people you knew,
but how many will feel a lasting loss when you're gone.
What will matter is not your memories,
but the memories that live in those who loved you.
- 'A Life that Matters'
(Thank you Jocelin for inspiring this post)
