Little Kindnesses

Welcome!*

Today's blog post was inspired by a nice lady I know who tries to bring kindness into the lives of others.  She lives in Southwest Virginia, and her name is Deborah Smith.  She smiles and speaks to people when she's out, even people she doesn't know.  She straightens up buggies at the grocery store and shoes, etc. in shops.  She just tries to make life a little easier and more pleasant for others.  These are just little things, but little things mean a lot.  You know, smiling at someone just might change that person's whole day or even outlook on life. 

This lady has the right attitude and is an inspiration for us all.

Here's more inspiration about kindness in words and pictures:

"In life you can never be too kind or too fair; everyone you meet is carrying a heavy load.  When you go through your day expressing kindness and courtesy to all you meet, you leave behind a feeling of warmth and good cheer, and you help alleviate the burdens everyone is struggling with."
-Brian Tracy

"No act of kindness is too small.  The gift of kindness may start as a small ripple that over time can turn into a tidal wave affecting the lives of many."
-Kevin Heath

"It' not our job to play judge and jury to determine who is worthy of our kindness and who is not.  We just need to be kind, unconditionally and without ulterior motive, even or rather, especially-when we'd prefer not to be."
-Josh Radnor

"To belittle, you have to be little."
-Kahlil Gibran

"Treat everyone with respect and kindness.  Period.  No exceptions."
-Kiana Tom

"The simplest acts of kindness are by far more powerful than a thousand heads bowing in prayer."
-Mahatma Gandhi

"Carry out a random act of kindness, with no expectation of reward, safe in the knowledge that one day someone might do the same for you."
-Princess Diana

"I shall pass this way but once; any good that I can do or any kindness I can show to any human being; let me do it now.  Let me not defer or neglect it for I shall not pass this way again."
-Etienne de Grellet

"Ask yourself: Have you been kind today?  Make kindness your daily modus operandi and change your world."
-Annie Lennox

Positive thought: "Always try to be a little kinder than necessary." -J. M. Barrie
Thanks for visiting!  Until next Sunday, Becky
*This blog post and all others on this blog are under the copyright of Becky Arnott.

The Golden Rule, Revisited

Welcome!

In my May 5, 2012 blog post, I wrote about The Golden Rule.  I think that it's very important, especially in today's society, so I thought I'd tackle the subject again.

The reason for my writing this is because of something that came up in my life recently.  I had left a message on a man's answering machine a few weeks ago that I was going to give him a free book (Photographic Encounters of the Spirit Kind) as a gift, since he'd been so helpful with part of my new book.  All he had to do was to return my call and give me his address so I could send it to him.  Days, weeks went by, and he still hadn't returned my call.  I couldn't understand why, as he seemed to be a nice guy.  I was starting to get a complex, and I imagined all sorts of reasons why he didn't call.  Thankfully, a couple of days ago, he did call me, apologizing for not having called, because he'd written my phone number on a piece of paper and had lost it, but finally had found it.  He said he couldn't wait to read my book!  We need to give people the benefit of the doubt.

It's amazing how often we jump to the wrong negative conclusions.  I guess it's in our negative programming, and we just have to overcome it. 

Anyway, the above incident made me think about the way we treat each other in light of The Golden Rule.  Wikipedia defines The Golden Rule as, "One should treat others as one would like others to treat oneself."  It also goes on to say,..."a person living by this rule treats all people with consideration, not just members of his or her in-group."

I recently found a great web site "Zen Habits" that has a helpful post,"18 Practical Tips for Living the Golden Rule."  It states that when you treat others with kindness, you'll be happier, and you'll make the people around you happier, too.  A couple of the practical tips dealing with stopping criticism and controlling others were especially good.

Most religions deal with treating people with kindness and respect:
"A man should wander about treating all creatures as he himself would be treated."
-Jainism, Sutrakritanga

Some examples treating people with kindness and respect would include, to mention a few are:
-Promptly replying to emails, phone calls, etc., especially if you're in business!  (Unless there's a real problem like the man I mentioned above)
-Thanking people for any kindness they have shown you
-Complimenting people on things they've done or have
-Helping others

Some specific instances of kindness and respect from other people that have come into my life that make me feel good to remember are:
-One of my former school classmates is always friendly and makes you feel good to be around her, because she focuses on you and makes you feel good about yourself.  She has charm, because someone who is charming always makes the other person feel important.
-I recently ordered something handmade online, and the woman who made the item for me, went out of her way to make sure I was happy.  She responded quickly to a question I had.  (Bet she has a lot of repeat customers!)
-A businessman who sent Greg and me a free $30.00 gift certificate to his restaurant for our wedding anniversary, because something I ordered for Greg hadn't come on time
-People who compliment me on things related to me personally

These people have got it right!

No matter how positive we try to be, sometimes negativity creeps in.  We have to be ever-vigilant.

 I was reading a few days ago about how powerful our thoughts can be.  If we could all just try to be more positive and kind, think how the world could be transformed, one positive thought at a time!

Positive thought:  "Thoughts become things." -Mike Dooley,  www.tut.com
Thanks for visiting!  Until next Sunday, Becky