Love and Kindness

Courtesy Close In

I was coming around the corner in the grocery store. So was he. Whew . . . close call with our carts. “Excuse me,” he smiled. “No problem,” I replied with a smile as generous as his. We were so kind and polite to each other, we two strangers. I was proud of us both.

But sometimes we forget to be equally polite to the people we love and who mean something to us. A child approaching while you’re fixing dinner may hear, “Watch out; get out of the way.” A wife reaching for a kiss during the football game may be waved off. A teenager arriving home with the groceries may be greeted with, “It’s about time you got back” Instead of “Thanks for making that trip.”

We expect that those close to us will accept this kind of behavior. After all, we can’t go around the house muttering “Please, thank you, excuse me” – all day long. Can we?
Why not?

Why treat strangers in a kinder and more polite way than those we love?
Practice thinking and saying those special words around the house. Practice courtesy towards those you love!

Please . . . thank you . . . excuse me. It will be such a joy when the new kinder gentler you takes hold.

And when you find the words being used by children and grandchildren too . . . well, that’s when you know you’ve made your corner of the world a slightly little better place.

[#336]

Decisions You Make

Today, you will have decisions to make: whether to get up now or sleep another hour. . . what to have for breakfast. . . what to wear. . . whether to take that phone call as you’re ready to walk out the door or not.

Each of those decisions seem inconsequential. You may make them by rote without even really thinking about them. But the chain of those decisions becomes your life.

How well you live that life depends on the decisions you make. Some people are very good at making decisions, and their life thrives. Others – not so much.

That’s when we hear the excuses about what went wrong: it was the economy. . . a bad start in life. . . not enough education. . . parents who did not care.

But the truth is . . . every one of us has the right – and obligation – to make good decisions to keep our lives running in the right direction. YOU have control, regardless of the economy or your schooling or your parents.

Making the right decision is not always easy. You may not have immediate gratification. It may take years to get where you want to be. You may have detours or false starts that need do-overs.

But It’s never too late to start making the right decisions. Something to think about.

[Show #451]

Sending Cards

You can tweet up to 140 words on Twitter. You can share your latest hairstyle with the world on Facebook or send your message the old fashioned way – by email. But I still enjoy using the totally antiquated form – a personal note through the US mail. Emotions conveyed through your own handwriting seem to have such a special effect.

Have you ever FOUND an ancient hand-written note; something tucked away in a trunk or a drawer because it was too precious to be discarded? Maybe a love letter sent from granddad to grandma while they were courting . . . a letter sent from a battlefield to a loved one at home or a picture drawn with love and crayons by a child for a parent.

The note you send to a friend or loved one today may be kept with the same kind of loyalty and become a treasure to be shared, years from now. Wouldn’t it be interesting to know who kept a hand written note that you sent?

You might be surprised to hear how many of your notes and letters are carefully stashed in someone’s special place. It’s a place where spelling and grammar don’t count and sentiment does. It’s like a peek into a person’s soul.

Love seems to come through so much better, when it’s hand written.

[Show #325]

Salute To Young Mothers

It’s so difficult to be a young mother today. There are so many restraints on young mothers that require concern and worry. The media’s emphasis on negative happenings can convince you there is a boogey man around every corner! How do you teach children to be open and sociable – and yet wary of strangers, at the same time? Outside forces are influencing your children and they seem to get exposed to less gentle things so very early.

Yet in most families here in the country, there is a loving young mother doing her best to counteract the downsides: to make life safe and sweet and secure; to assure that her children know they are loved and the benefits of being good, obedient and respectful. It’s hard to know how much of an impression you are making. But you know what? Don’t stop!

Kids learn the lessons you are teaching. They learn from the examples you set by what you do and say. It will serve them well in the years ahead when they have hard choices to make. You are setting their moral compass and that’s never easy.

To those young mothers, accept this salute for the fine job you are doing as you juggle home, job, volunteering and most of all, caring for your children and helping them to grow and prosper, meeting each day’s challenges.

Thanks for all you do, young moms. Never give up. We’re counting on you!

[Show #292]

Books for Christmas

I’ve been thinking about Christmas gifts. Books used to be a favorite gift of mine. The placement of ideas into the mind of another is an awesome gift.

And books become more beautiful with time. The treasured, hundred-year- old family bible, now worn and threadbare, could not be more beautiful. The children’s story book with its finger prints and jelly smears, with stories read so many times that a parent has them memorized; far more beautiful than the leather-bound, gold in-scripted book sitting on a shelf that looks like it has never been opened.

Of course we see the transmittal of words moving to other media now. My Christmas gift list this year might include a Kindle or other electronic reading device. I might bring up a book on my iphone or read it on line. But somehow it’s still captivating to curl up with a good book.

Yes, I think books will remain on my Christmas gift list. That and CDs of books for listening in the car or CDs of, say, this radio show. (Blatant hint.)

Consider This IS now on CD and ready for Christmas gift giving. But only if you too are into sharing wisdom, ideas, humor and mirth.

[Show #391]

Returning Warriors

I was thinking of veterans, coming back from the horror they have experienced in combat and trying to reconstruct their lives, and this poem came together . . .

There’s a man emerging without the adornment of position, entourage or credentials. How daunting to stand tall, naked of the uniform that defined you for years. What courage it takes to make the declaration of emergence, knowing that people will watch and judge.

The man sees the valley beyond and it has people who offer to make him feel welcome and comfortable and there is a hand outstretched. He stands tentatively, having climbed to his present spot of unsure footing and wonders what is next.

He sees himself in the clear mountain stream. He is whole, sturdy, ready for the rest of the trip. He is not undefiled. He has dents and welts and scars, but he is strong and able.

He looks up at what it will take to get to the next step. The valley looks so inviting, bathed in warmth and the light of friendship, solace and understanding. It represent the rest of his life . . . and it provides the opportunity to reach out and touch the face of God.

Welcome home, soldier.

[Show #501]

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