Time to Share #22

A few weeks ago I announced that I would be having my first guest blogger! Well here is here first post.

You may have heard me talk about Bethan before. She is one of my best friends, and a young woman who as wisdom beyond her age. Hope you enjoy her points of view.

Kindness--

I can honestly say that I would never see myself as a being a guest blogger, but when my good friend Stacy asked me I jumped on the opportunity! It took me awhile to decide what to write on and it came to me as I was at school last week....

I am currently attending Olds College, I am married and I am quite a bit older than my classmates. I have tried to be as helpful to my classmates as I can throughout the year: explaining different aspects, or helping them with a question or even studying with some students that are struggling. I got asked the other day why I take the time to help others, doesn’t it slow me down and doesn’t it not allow me to finish my work as quickly? I am a very talkative person and at that moment I found myself dumbfounded, I didn’t really know what the person meant or how they wanted me to react. This got me thinking...

I do not think of myself when helping someone or even how they are slowing me down. I look at it as I help others and they help me. A lot of my classmates do not feel that they help me; they do not realize that it is a great feeling for me to help them. If I needed help I know someone will be there to help me, and even if it isn’t an action that I can explain, by allowing me to help them they have helped me. I like that kindness in contagious, if I show my kindness others may pass it on.

This quote says it best by Barbara De Angelis,

“Love and kindness are never wasted. They always make a difference. They bless the one who receives them, and they bless you, the giver.”

This takes me to a time when I needed help... I was about 2 hours away from home in the truck. I realized that I was low on fuel and was not going to make it home so I pulled into the gas station, I just put in 20 bucks enough gas to get home. I got the till and realized I didn’t have my wallet in my purse it was in the car, I knew exactly where it was. I explained the gas attendant my story and was curious if I called my husband if they could take his VISA number and charge the card for the gas I had already put in the truck. The gas attendant said it wouldn’t work and I was mortified at this time the man behind me stood forward and paid for my gas. I asked if I could get his address I would pay him back, he told me just to pay it forward.....

That man, which I never did even get a name from, had a huge impact on my life that day and from that day on. I didn’t make my life about creating these heart warming stories, but simply to just bring kindness into the world. If it is helping a student in class or just by sending a random text to a special friend or smiling and saying hello to a stranger. I don’t think there is anything bad about bringing happiness into the world.

Here is another quote to explain what I mean, by Leo Buscaglia,

“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.”

So as I write this blog and you read it I hope that it has made you think twice about being kind to others. Here is a list of 10 simple acts of kindness maybe you could consider and may change someone’s life and not even realize it:

1. Send someone you care about a random message telling them you are thinking about them

2. Tip 100% for good service at a restaurant

3. Tell someone how much they mean to you

4. Smile and say hello to a stranger as you walk by

5. Let the person that is such a hurry behind you just go in front of you

6. Give your seat up to someone else in a public place

7. If you see someone else in trouble...stop and help

8. Pay for the person behind you in line at Tim Horton’s

9. Send an random card to someone in the mail (everyone loves getting good mail)

10. Donate to a charity

11. Just Smile...it will spread and bring a smile to others around you.

I hope this blog leaves you with a perspective in life that being kind can make a difference. Anyone can make a difference in this world I will leave you with one final quote by Theodore Rubin,

“Kindness is more important than wisdom, and the recognition of this is the beginning of wisdom.”