Kindness: Pay it Forward =)

I love everyday acts of compassion and the kindness of strangers. It shouldn't really seem to be so amazing to do the right thing, but they really do stand out when the world seems full of gloom and doom. A very simply gesture can mean so much. When you open a door for somebody or help somebody carry their groceries. When you see somebody who is down trodden and you offer them something to eat or your spare change. Not everybody will recognize your small gestures, but it's not about recognition anyway. You just do them because you know that it's the right and kind thing to do. I don't have a super profound anecdote to share about it right now, but I do have a small story to share.

One of my friends is moving to another state and so we decided to meet up for lunch so we could have a proper farewell. I naturally brought some homemade goodies for my friends because it's one of the ways that I share my love with people. We had a nice lunch together and we caught up on what was going on in our lives.  After lunch we wanted to take some photos together outside of the restaurant. We were in the middle of doing that and there was a couple inside of the restaurant  who were sitting just behind the window and I was thinking 'Oh gosh...they might be finding our photo shoot a bit annoying; so maybe we'd better hurry up so they can enjoy their lunch in peace.' Surprisingly, the woman of the couple waved to us and motioned that she wanted to help us take a group shot. We were trying to fit all 3 of us in a shot, but I was holding the camera and I was the shortest of us all and so you can imagine it wasn't working out too well. The lady came out of the restaurant with a big smile on her face and she took the camera and took a few shots of us.

Did you notice that the shirt I'm wearing in this photo says 'Love' on the front of it? =)

 I asked what her name was and she said 'Finia.' (I'm not sure that's how her name is actually spelled) I explained to her that it was really kind and generous of her to come out and help us because I thought maybe we were being a nuisance with our photo taking. I gave her hug and then I took the photo below of her standing in between my two other friends.

Hooray for Finia and good friends =)

What a sweet lady =) I waved to her husband who was still sitting inside at their table ( I don't think he could have left the table to take photos too because he would've lost their table completely!) and he just smiled and waved back and blew kisses to us. Too cute =) 

It's funny because when we were catching up while we were having lunch my friend who is moving away was talking about how many trips to the salvation army she'd taken to donate her clothes and other items from her house. We were talking about how good it was to give and  that the tax deductions would just be a bonus.
 I think the universe was listening to us and smiling =)

I believe that if we put out positive energy into the universe it will come back to us. The same goes for putting out negative energy into the universe; that too will come back to you. 

It is not always easy to do that in certain situations and with certain individuals, but you really have to try and stay with the positive approach. It'll keep you much healthier and extend your years if you're not pent up with anger and distrust. It is absolutely draining to try to stay mad at people and it is just not worth it in the end. 

I have a quote that I use in my emails:

“To fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting.” 

 - Sun Tzu

It is difficult to do, but not impossible. 

I hope you have a good life and that you continue to pay forward the kindness to everybody you meet.

Thank you for stopping by to read this, by doing so you have made me smile =)

Love,

Jessica