A friend related this powerful moving story to my wife and me. On February 15, their 17-year-old granddaughter and two friends had some free time, so they went to the local market and bought a large number of half-price, unsold, Valentine flowers. They made many small bouquets, tied them with ribbons and attached a positive message to each. Next, they went to the nearest hospital and began offering them to people who walked by—visitors, patients, doctors, nurses, etc. Some people took them and thanked them while others kept walking by. As a very distraught looking twenty-something-year-old woman approached them, the two friends decided this woman was unhinged and suggested avoiding her. The granddaughter approached the woman who grasped the offered flowers and in a low soft voice said, “I was going to do something seriously very bad until you gave me this.” She began texting on her phone, a car pulled up, and she got in. The driver of the car rolled down the window and called the granddaughter over. She tearfully said, “You don’t know what you’ve done tonight.” The smallest acts of kindness can have consequences far beyond what was imagined or intended. You never know the potential impact of performing a kind act.
One Sentence Wisdom
- 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. — Leo Buscaglia
- I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy. — Rabindranath Tagore
If you know of someone who you think would enjoy reading my Reminder, please forward it to them. Also, feel free to use this content in your own publications—newsletters, blogs, etc.
