Good deeds
With all the unrest and uncertainty we’re dealing with right now, I decided to speak to you about the benefit of good deeds. When I was young, my nana (that’s what I called my grandmother) used to say that good deeds were the building blocks of a good life. I must confess that at that age, I didn’t really understand that concept, but I do now and completely agree with it. I think we could all use an extra dose of hope now along with some goodness thrown in! I watched an old movie this past weekend, Pay it Forward, which reminded me of this idea. In the story, a little boy begins a cycle of offering help to three people and then each of them on their end returns the favour to three more people. As you can imagine, over the course of the film, people’s lives are changed in dramatic ways after they receive help, and they all go on to do a similar good deed for others.
While that story actually plays out in a film, there is plenty of evidence showing how the cycle of doing good helps to create a better world. Just Google it and you’ll see what I mean! Good deeds and paying it forward are ways to plant seeds of goodwill that can grow and bear fruit down the road. One of the best things about this kind of seeding, is that it makes you feel good. Doing a thoughtful deed for someone else opens your heart and fills it with warmth. You don’t have to be rich or powerful to plant seeds of kindness. All it takes is a willingness to look out for opportunities to help others.
Acts of kindness can start in simple ways, such as a smile for the harried grocery clerk or holding the door for a tired mother who’s preoccupied with her little ones. Or you can take it a step further and offer help to people in need… And there are plenty of opportunities to do that right now! Perhaps someone you know could use a heart-to-heart discussion about challenges they’re facing, or an elderly or sickly person in your neighbourhood or building could use help shopping. If you put your head to it, I’ll bet some ideas will come to you pretty quickly.
It doesn’t really matter how you seed kindnesses as long as you are looking for opportunities to do so and then take advantage of them when you see the need.
In the process of doing good for others, even if it’s something small, we improve the lives of others, build better relationships and improve our own lives as well. That’s what I call a win-win situation!