Peace on Earth

Lots of thoughts today about peace, love and giving. I was listening to the song, "Let There Be Peace On Earth." Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me... That's really where it all has to begin. If everyone accepted the challenge of contributing to peace, I believe the world would be a much nicer place.

One of my favorite movies is "Pay It Forward." The new trend of secretly paying off layaways at box stores is one of the kindest things I've heard of in a long time. It doesn't take much to pay it forward. It doesn't have to cost a cent. You just have to do something nice for someone. Something as big as helping them fix their car or move, or as small as holding a door open or offering a smile to a stranger on the street.

Think about how good you feel when someone does something nice for you. Think about how good you feel when you do something nice for others. So with all of those good feelings going around, why stop with one good deed in a blue moon? What if we all resolved this year to do one nice thing for someone every day? Better yet, every hour? Just something almost imperceptible as a good deed... pick up a dropped pencil for someone at work, gather some litter off your neighbor's lawn on your way into the house, sit at a light for a minute longer to let someone turn the corner, send a note to someone to let them know you're thinking of them, drop a few coins in a beggar's cup, slip a few homemade cookies out of the jar and take them to a friend, continue down the walk a few more feet when you shovel snow, pull a weed when you walk by a curbside flower bed, check on an elderly neighbor, mow a lawn for someone on vacation, or offer to pick up their mail and papers... whatever you do, big or small, publicly or in secret, all will give you warm fuzzies, and if the other person recognizes that something nice has been done for them, they will have a better day too. There is no cheaper way to get a high, and it's not harmful to your health!

As I think back on some of the things I've done for folks, I still feel good, even years later. Nobody ever knows what effect their deed will have. It may even significantly change a life. A simple card in the mail may make a lonely person believe people do care and convince them not to commit suicide. By working a shift at a food kitchen, you may encourage your child to go into a career as a homeless advocate & social worker. Stopping to allow a pedestrian to cross the street may keep them from becoming frustrated and walking in front of a truck because they tried to rush between traffic. Offering someone a ride may keep someone from being late to work and save their job. So little can mean so much sometimes.

My sister-in-law has dedicated herself to the cause of homeless youth. She volunteers her time, her assets, a shoulder or a hug on a daily basis. She has been so blessed in her life just by showing love and support to young people that others ignore or view with disdain. Simply because she has a good heart and gives of herself, others give to her in return. She's not well-to-do. She often struggles to pay bills and scrape by, but will give anything she can to someone else in need, even if it means going without herself. This fall, someone anonymously paid to fill her propane tank so she would be warm this winter. Why? Because she's selfless and caring and someone appreciates that. Not only does she get the warm fuzzies from what she does, and the kids get the warm fuzzy rewards of her kindness, but a bystander apparently got warm fuzzies from watching her unconditional love and giving, and made sure she wouldn't go cold for lack of money to pay her own bills, which in turn, gave her more warm fuzzies that someone was so generous toward her! Kindness usually comes full-circle, whether you see immediate results or not.


Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me.