“Prepare your mind to receive the best life has to offer.”

Ernest Holmes (from Quoteland.com)

And then prepare to pay it forward.  That’s how your blessings will have a positive impact on others.

After all, far too many people never see the best life has to offer except for fleeting moments that (hopefully) create treasured memories. Sharing simple kindness is one way you can offer the best of life to people who need it…and we ALL do.  You never know exactly when it will create a treasured memory, but that’s sure to happen when you try often enough.  Most of all, God knows.

We can all remember how someone’s kindness made our path easier. The warmth of that treasured memory not only lives within us, but shows how our kindness can create the same feeling in others.

I really became attuned to this fact when hitch hiking many (won’t say how many) years ago.  Here’s just one example: I was standing in a cold rain near Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan on a virtually deserted highway early one morning.  A State Police trooper pulled over and I immediately thought “This is just what I need…to be given a hard time when I’m already cold and wet.”  After all, hitch hikers are not always viewed kindly in the world of law enforcement.

My instincts seemed to be confirmed when the officer started outlining all the reasons why I shouldn’t be there.  When he ordered me into the car, I really thought the worst.  We were cruising down the highway to what I thought was the station when we passed the exit.

All the time, he lectured me on the perils of hitch hiking.  After about an hour, we crossed the Mackinac Bridge into the Lower Peninsula.  The lecture gradually eased into conversation.  After about another forty miles, the sun was shining and it was about twenty degrees warmer.  He pulled over, let me out, and said “I hope you heard what I said.”  I assured him that I had…but we both knew what he really meant.

While that rises above and beyond the level of simple kindness, you can still find ways to warm someone’s day.  Preparing for the possibility is the first step.  The cool part is that you’ll also be warmer for the experience.  Blessings For The Family…Ward

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