Pay it forward.

While I was in the Dental office the other day, I read this article in a Better Homes and Gardens Magazine. It was called Pay it forward by Sara Altshul

I really enjoyed it, and thought how nice it is to be reminded that… when you show a kindness to others, it literally has a domino effect on everyone involved…isn’t that a neat ?

Good night dear friends!

Here’s the article, short but sweet…

Performing a good deed for someone makes him or her more likely to do something nice for someone else, say researchers at Harvard and the University of California , San Diego.  Their study provides strong evidence that cooperative behavior spreads from person to person to person- like a benevolent  virus. In the study, volunteers simulated giving money away to others. The researchers observed the domino effect, in which one person’s kindness spread first to 3 people, then to 9 people, and then to even more people, what’s more after giving, you became a more generous person who’ll give to other more frequently.
Happily, no one’s immune to the kindness flu.  “We found that the effect works on Scrooge and Santa personalities alike”, says study co-author James H. Fowler, PHD a professor at UC San Diego an expert on social networks.

 

“Constant kindness can accomplish much. As the sun
makes ice melt, kindness causes misunderstanding,
mistrust, and hostility to evaporate. “   ~ Albert Schweitzer

“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

“Today, give a stranger one of your smiles. It might
be the only sunshine he sees all day.”    ~H. Jackson Brown

Wishing!

A years ago this month, two friends lost someone that they loved. I just wanted them to know I was thinking of them, and that they are loved! I WISH I could tell that to them face to face! Time has flown by for many of us, but to them and many others who's heart is aching, time has gone much slower! Let's try to remember them and send them this wish!

I Wish

I wish you the courage to be warm when the world would prefer that you be cool.
I wish you success sufficient to your needs;
I wish you failure to temper that success.
I wish you joy in all your days;
I wish you sadness so that you may better measure joy.
I wish you gladness to overbalance your grief.
I wish you humor and a twinkle in your eye.
I wish you glory and the strength to bear its burdens.
I wish you sunshine on your path and health to carry you on your journey.
I wish you peace -- in the world in which you live and in the smallest corner of you heart where truth is kept.
I wish you faith -- to help define your living and your life.
More I cannot wish you -- except perhaps love -- to make all the rest worthwhile.

-Robert A. Ward

"Life is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the bumble bee, the small child, and the smiling faces. Smell the rain, and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential, and fight for your dreams."  ~Ashley Smith

"Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."    ~ Howard Thurman

Smile

Some times words are hard to find and so all is really needed is a simple smile! I think there is a great power in smiling! A smile says things that words can't, it can change someone's whole mood or outlook that day. You might say the wrong words to someone but a smile never gets misunderstood. So when I read this story today from www.inspireme.net , I thought I would like to share it with you. Smiling is important, just as much for you, as it is for the one who receives it!

I hope you had a good day and that you were able to share your smile with someone, or at least you benefited from someone sharing theirs.

About ten years ago when I was an undergraduate in college, I was working as an intern at my University's Museum of Natural History. One day while working at the cash register in the gift shop, I saw an elderly couple come in with a little girl in a wheelchair.

As I looked closer at this girl, I saw that she was kind of perched on her chair. I then realized she had no arms or legs, just a head, neck and torso. She was wearing a little white dress with red polka dots.

As the couple wheeled her up to me I was looking down at the register. I turned my head toward the girl and gave her a wink. As I took the money from her grandparents, I looked back at the girl, who was giving me the cutest, largest smile I have ever seen. All of a sudden her handicap was gone and all I saw was this beautiful girl, whose smile just melted me and almost instantly gave me a completely new sense of what life is all about. She took me from a poor, unhappy college student and brought me into her world; a world of smiles, love and warmth.

That was ten years ago. I'm a successful business person now and whenever I get down and think about the troubles of the world, I think about that little girl and the remarkable lesson about life that she taught me.

Author Unknown

 

"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 F. Buscaglia

" Because of your smile, you make life more beautiful."  ~ Thich Nhat Hanh

A Hug and a Smile

 

Our newest granddaughter is one month old tomorrow and just a few days ago she began smiling at her mom and dad. I still can't believe the miracle of these little ones, what a blessing they are. This is a photo of her when she was 3 days old and we caught her smiling in her sleep (don't you wish you could know what they were dreaming of?). But now she is more alert and looking around and can respond to us, it is something else. No matter how bad my day has been going, those hugs and smiles can keep you going.

Today was a tough day for me physically. I am sure that I move so much in my chair at church, that people wonder if I have two spirits in this one body. :)  It's just that I can hardly get comfortable in any position. After church I am pretty wiped out for the remainder of the day. Today was another BIGGER THAN ME day. I have had a couple of them close together lately, probably because I am in a lot of pain. I had a pity party for myself and no one was invited except ME, MYSELF and I. Even that was too many, I laid down and cried for an hour, just feeling sorry that I can't do what I would like to do. Upset because I hurt so often and that seems to wear on me and my outlook. Tired of having to hurt for hours after doing something, such as going to church. I am so thankful that I can go to church but, I hate paying the price later. Oh yes, I was a sad case indeed. Then I got a phone call and a dear friend of mine told me that she just had her baby.

So tonight, I decided to go see her and the baby. Her husband went home early with their 2 little girls and so I got to stay and visit with her and hold the baby for 2 hours, what a treat! It made me feel better to hold and hug this new little one. I watched her smile in her sleep and thought, my life is good...not exactly what I would choose, but it is good. I am so grateful that I left my pity party and got to share a neat evening with a dear friend. It certainly helped me a lot.

The Hug

There's something in a simple hug
That always warms the heart;
It welcomes us back home
Makes it easier to part.

A hug's a way to share the joy,
And sad times we go through,
Or just a way for friends to say
They like you 'cause you're you.

Hugs are meant for anyone
For whom we really care,
From grandma to your neighbor,
Or a cuddly teddy bear.

A hug is an amazing thing-
It's just the perfect way
To show the love we're feeling
But can't find the words to say.

It's funny how a little hug
Makes everyone feel good;
In every place and language,
It's always understood.

Thanks for sharing my blog with me, your support and encouragement help so much. Good night!

 

"A smile can brighten the darkest day."  ~Author Unknown

"Hugs are the universal medicine"  ~Author Unknown

 

"Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing." 

~Mother Teresa