Paying it forward and loving your problems
Never underestimate the power of even the most minute positive connection
The other day in rural upstate New York, we got a flat tire, pulled over and called AAA. It was chilly and drizzling in a town between Buffalo and the Finger Lakes region, with more cows than people. AAA wouldn't arrive for at least an hour, so we began to clean the van and get some reading done. Rather than complain or fret over a flat tire, we could use the down time to improve our lives. (If you know anything about me, it's that I'm not all that handy.) But then a man parked his pickup truck in front of us, walked to our window and offered to help.
His name was Al, equipped with a car jack. He changed the tire in about 10 minutes, saving us a good hour or two on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere. Asked if we could give him a six-pack of beer or another thank-you gift, he politely declined. "Just go pay it forward," he said.
The memory of this simple act of kindness will not leave us. So often, our lives intersect with others and we don't acknowledge one another's presence. So often, I pass by someone who might need a hand and don't help. We go on with our "busy" lives, transaction to transaction, day by day. But every once in a while, someone does something for someone else that leaves a lasting impression, restoring faith that maybe there is potential for immense good.
Thank you, Al. We will keep paying forward your kind act, over and over.
Speaking of kindness, I'm still accepting submissions for a random acts of kindness project. Here's the link if you have a similar story to tell, regardless of when it happened. Leaving your name and contact info is optional. Here’s the link.
“Never underestimate the power of even the most minute positive connection,” a hidden source of belonging and happiness. “We don’t expect strangers to like us, and we don’t expect to like them either. Perhaps this is why we expect interactions with strangers to go poorly: because we subconsciously believe they just don’t have much to offer. ‘I think that relief might just be the feeling that we’re sold this message that the world is a scary place,’ Sandstrom said, ‘and then you have a chat with someone, some random person, and it goes well, and it’s sorta like, Maybe the world isn’t so bad after all.’”
Why We Should Talk to Strangers More -- The Atlantic
Gratitude is the open door to abundance. When you love what you have, you have everything you need.
The secret of having it all is knowing you already do.
I was listening the other day about Stacy Madison, who founded "Stacy's Pita Chips," which are delicious. After founding and growing the business, she sold it for $250 million. Then she had breast cancer. What she said on the 'How I built this' podcast struck me:
"When you’re in that position you really feel like the money doesn’t matter," she said of the diagnosis. "When there’s a day you think you may die, all of the sudden there’s this mortality and you have to think of your kids. What’s going to happen with my children? Who’s going to give them a hug? The money doesn’t matter."
Hug your people! We are alive! What a joy.
“We are constantly learning, healing, and growing. We are trying to find our meaning in life while facing our traumas and choosing to rise above them. One thing is for sure, we can always help each other. Whether it is by making someone smile, helping the ones in need, checking up on someone you care about, being a good listener, or sharing your knowledge. There are so many ways to be a good human being. Choose to be one for the people around you, whether you know them or not. Remember, you don't need a reason to lead with love.”
— Dhayana Alejandrina, Writer & Poet
Life is a good teacher and good friend. Things are always in transition, if we could only realize it. Nothing ever sums itself in the way we like to dream about. The off-center, in between state is ideal, where we can open our hearts and minds." -- Penna Chodron, author
Love this meditation. Time to love the hard things. Time to love the transitions, love the challenges, love the difficult moments. “Be thankful for problems. If they were less difficult, someone with less ability might have your job," Jim Lovell said. Let's choose one thing that we've been labeling a problem and turn it into a self challenge. How can we use it to grow? Watch how problems that used to drag you down are transformed into challenges that energize you.
Let's understand that peace and happiness doesn't mean we're in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart. Desire the easy life? No! Anybody can cruise through a life of no challenge. We want challenges. They strengthen us and make us who we are.
We hear people complain, it's so nasty out, it's gray, it's whatever, but rain is integral part of nature as any sunny day and pretty beach. I want to love rain. Love snow. Love the heat (well, not the Climate Change part). Love the cold air. Love the rejection. Accept everything. We really can learn to accept it all.
Photo of the week: It was a rainy, foggy Saturday morning at Letchworth State Park in upstate N.Y. just before the peak fall foliage.
To see the leaves in various states offers a reminder in the beauty of change and in letting go.
Parting thought: “If your choices are beautiful, so too will you be.” – Epictetus
Be joyful and celebrate your gifts,
Matthew