Simple Gestures
This blog is a definite distraction. A distraction from what you ask, we will get to that later in the blog.
The other day, my grandchildren were being dropped off by their mom because I wanted to take them to a gathering. As my three-year-old granddaughter emerged from the car, she had in her hand a bar of used soap – lovely soap but used. She told her mother that she wanted to ‘give it to nana’. In her little mind the goal was a gift, it didn’t matter to her that it was used, it was her desire to bring me something. So sweet. I almost don’t want to use it because I don’t want it to be gone. We experience life what we label life. If you have forgotten that, it is time to remember this simple but important fact.
On Sunday, I attended a bridal shower for my son’s soon to be wife. It was a sweet old-fashioned traditional event that reminds you of the value of family. During the time of opening the gifts, a young woman I just met, her name is Meghan, called to me: “Here Ms. Wadleigh, come sit here.” She was taking care of me so I would be closer to the opening of the gifts. A sweet gesture that left me feeling seen and appreciated.
Whether the gestures are from someone familiar or a stranger, there is a definite impact from a minute simple gesture of kindness. It is just as easy to leave a loving impression as it is to leave a scar.
Here is what this is a distraction from. . .
While I have the luxury to sit on my sofa and write this privileged blog about kindness, there are millions of people displaced from the country of Sudan due to a civil war between factions. There are people dying and being driven from their homes. There are a half a million lives lost in the Russian and Ukraine conflict. Over 40,000 lives lost in Gaza. And there are military coups, gang violence, and other terrorist groups wreaking havoc, and I sit here writing about gestures of kindness.
How do we, those who might have influence, find the balance to encourage others to believe in possibility while we are surrounded with so much unrest. I believe it is critically important to stay conscious of all that is happening globally while we sit here untouched by the violence that is common for so many.
Simple gestures will remain important, but so is staying conscious about what is around us, if for no other reason than to appreciate what you have. The roof over your head and the food in your belly. Let us remain conscious and wildly grateful while offering simple gestures. But, do not for a moment forget to practice gratitude or to count your blessings, and when you are offering your daily prayers, include people you don’t know, include countries that you will never visit. Let them be the beneficiary of your conscious energetic prayers that we know in truth are dynamic in their impact.
And please, please find a way to share your good, to support those who need it and to encourage self-confidence and self-empowerment, because those who believe in themselves will always be more equipped to touch lives in a beautiful way.
