“If speaking kindly to plants helps them grow, imagine what speaking kindly to humans can do.” Anonymous, but it sounds like Mr. Rogers or Captain Kangaroo
Once upon a time I delivered blood for the American Red Cross to local hospitals. At one of my stops the technician who signed a receipt for my delivery was Oriental. I’m not sure if it was a problem with my hearing or her broken English. Either way I could only understand about every fourth word she said. It really didn’t matter. She was so happy and her energy was so positive, I just liked being in the same room with her. This might be a stretch but I bet if we were going down on the Titanic together she would somehow make it fun.
There is an old saying that everyone has the power to brighten up a room, some by coming in and others by going out. The question we all need to ask ourselves is which one do we want to be?
Did you hear about the unlucky fellow who wanted to get a new boomerang? The trouble was he couldn’t get rid of the old one. We’re talking karma here. Whatever you put out there is going to come back on you. So we should all be very careful with what we say and do. The famous novelist Henry James reportedly gave his nephew this advice when asked what he ought to do with his life and how he should live it. “Three things in human life are important. The first is be kind. The second is to be kind. And the third is to be kind.
Very well said, Henry. I agree.
As a child attending church, one of the first things I learned about Jesus was his advice, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Later I learned that same concept was taught in Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Taoism and just about any other religion you can name. I think they’re really on to something special here.
Now add this to the mix, “You will reap what you sow.”
One night during combat training in the marines, we fired tracer rounds at targets on a hill. Trace rounds light up the path of your bullets so you can direct your firepower. Our targets were totally destroyed. On the way back to our barracks one of our drill instructors said, “What they didn’t tell you is all that shit can come flying back at you.”
So be careful with what you sow with your words and actions. Do you remember the legend of Johnny Appleseed, the American pioneer who traveled the Midwest planting apple trees? Why not use him as a role model. Let’s try planting kindness and goodwill wherever we happen to be traveling.
Try as hard as you can I’ll bet you can’t wear out the words, please, thank you, good morning, and have a nice day.
theartofbecomingawildflower 