For your consideration……
Choose kindness. It sounds so simple. Deep in our authentic self we know it is a must. Yet we often make it optional.
We always have a choice. We have heard that here a lot. We always have a choice about everything. Today addresses kindness.
We like to be kind. It makes us feel good. And when it is convenient, it is no problem at all. It is a win win. However, there are those times when we do not feel inclined to be kind. We have a myriad of reasons why; they don’t deserve it, we’re having a bad day, we don’t have time, they’re wrong and we are in the right, they’re rude etc. The list goes on and on and on.
When today’s message came in, I was given some images I had seen in the last couple of days.
One was of me. I had gone shopping very early in the morning for a couple of last minute things I needed for Thanksgiving and in preparation of dinner guests. While shopping, I came across a huge display of large cards selling Christmas postage stamps. How convenient and something I needed to mail out my Christmas cards. It would save me a trip to the post office. I got home and started to pull the cards apart expecting the books of stamps to be inside but they weren’t. I called the store and they told me, “Oh no, you were supposed to stop at the service desk and pick them up.” No one said that and it wasn’t posted so I am not sure how I was supposed to draw that conclusion. No matter. I went back with the cards to the service desk. “Can we see your receipt please?”
“I don’t have it. I got gas as soon as I left here and threw it out.” (I retired out of the auto industry and always keep a neat car. As my gas is pumping I throw away receipts, tissues….anything that doesn’t belong.) “Can you please pull up my account and get what you need?” I asked.
Now the customer service people are great but there was another person who works in the store standing in the aisle and she says, “You have to have a receipt.”
“But I don’t.”
“It says you have to right there.” She points to the sign.
“But I don’t and I WILL get me stamps. Do we need to call a manager?” At that point the customer service people are already trying to call to the office to have them pull up my records. In the meantime their supervisor has gone to get the stamps and this other employee just leaves.
You get the picture. I was kind and polite with the service personal who were being kind and polite. But when this other store person accusingly piped in, I met her sarcasm with sarcasm. I met her rudeness with rudeness. Yikes, not good. Note to self….do better.
Another images I was given was from the news of the fights breaking out when the doors opened for the Black Friday specials. Oooooh, shopping can be rough.
Finally, the last image I was given was of a little girl who was at Thanksgiving dinner yesterday. She was the daughter of my niece’s boss. She was absolutely crazy over Max, Kerri’s small dog. Now in the family, we joke a lot about Max. We love him but he has some faults…..as we all do. However, yesterday you could never have convinced this child of that. She saw perfection and was absolutely convinced that Max adored her as well. Max met her kindness with his own. He met her affection with his own. Max as I shining example! Who would ever have guessed?
Kindness is always the better choice whether it is given to us or not. Does that mean we need to be door mats? No, of course not. But it does mean that kindness can be the catalyst to make any situation better…..perhaps not perfect…..but better. Escalation of bad behavior perpetuates bad behavior. We leave the moment with a “stain” on it when it could have been so much more.
Exercise patience and choose kindness. That is our message today.
That is the HOPE. And so it is.
Bit by bit, piece by piece, HOPE by HOPE action steps anyone can take…..
-Meditate/pray….ask….”What is my next step for my highest good and the highest good of all?”
-Drink lots of water.
-Get outdoors and take in at least 10 deep breaths.
-Exercise kindness.
What made me smile yesterday…….
-An easy morning.
-Catching up and laughing with Jackie.
-Sharing Thanksgiving with family and friends.
-Bruce decided to brave Target with me on our way home. Ultimately, it was too much and we just left. But it was hysterical for him to get a first hand look at Black Friday. I ultimately dropped him off home and went to Best Buy. They were packed but had lots of help. I got the one small thing I needed, paid for it and was back out of the store in less time than it took me to find a parking spot.
-Alex had a great Thanksgiving dinner on the ship even though they had to pay extra for it. What is up with that? No one can believe it when I say that the Navy charges her monthly for her food. It just seems wrong somehow that they do provide your food while you are deployed. And it seems wrong on every level that they charge you extra for a Thanksgiving dinner. But I will smile because, she said it was great.
Love, Blessings and Gratitude,
Rev. Chris
Love, Blessings and Gratitude,
Rev. Chris
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