Leaving a store, I returned to my car only to find that I’d locked my keys and cell phone inside.

A teenager riding his bike saw me kick a tire and say a few choice words. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

I explained my situation.

“But even if I could call my wife,” I said, “she can’t bring me her car key, since this is our only car.”

 He handed me his cell phone. “Call your wife and tell her I’m coming to get her key.”

“That’s seven miles round trip.” He said, “Don’t worry about it.”

An hour later, he returned with the key.

I offered him some money, but he refused. “Let’s just say I needed the exercise,” he said.

Then, like a cowboy in the movies, he rode off into the sunset. (Clarence W. Stephens, Nicholasville, Kentucky.)

Random acts of kindness bring us hope for mankind!

If not today, when?

Chuck Feeney made his money in the duty-free shopping business, building a nest egg of $8 billion over the course of his life.

The Irish-American is known for his frugality and humility. Despite his riches, he does not own a car. He rents a small apartment. He flies economy class, and he owns only one pair of shoes.

The co-founder of the Duty-Free Shoppers Group managed to keep his charitable activities hidden from the public for 15 years, until his identity was revealed to the public in 1997 when he sold his shares in the company.

He continued to keep a low profile until 2005, when the opportunity came along to do some good with the publicity.

The New Jersey-born businessman decided to cooperate in journalist Conor O’Cleary’s writing of his biography, with an eye toward promoting ‘giving while living’ to other wealthy people.

In 2007, former Irish Prime Minister, Bertie Ahern, launched the book, “The Billionaire Who Wasn’t”, at Trinity College Dublin. (Goodnewsnetwork.com)

Think about GIVING WHILE LIVING!

If not today, when?

Every evening in Durham, England, these four young people sing uplifting songs for their neighbors in lockdown during Covid-19.

No one asked them to do it. They’re not being paid to do it.

They just do it!

They are the embodiment of the phrase, “It’s better to give than to receive.”

When is the last time you went out of your way to spread some kindness to others?

The great irony of doing something for the benefit of others is that we realize the following benefits:

1. We feel we’re doing something worthwhile!
2. We feel better about ourselves!
3. We have a higher sense of self esteem which equips us for life’s challenges ahead!

Any little act of kindness makes the world a happier and safer place for everyone!

How about setting a daily goal of performing some small act of kindness before you put your head on the pillow tonight?

If not today, when?

A homeless lady tells her story:

“I spent my life moving from foster care to foster care, dealing with child abuse and things like that,” Williams told CNN. “In the end, nobody wanted me, and I stayed in the system until my senior year [of high school].”

Williams was also hampered by a learning disability that made finding jobs more difficult. But even so, she never stopped trying.

Whether it was luck or fate that led her to the parking lot of an East Nashville, Tennessee Kroger grocery store, Williams’ life was about to change for the better.

By day, she became a store regular, striking up conversations and making friends, even when she couldn’t afford to buy food.

At night, she slept in the Kroger parking lot.

The store manager heard about her and hired her.

She received a promotion one month later! (GoodNewsNetwork.Org)

It doesn’t happen overnight.

There are three ways to evaluate another person:

1. What do they say?
2. What do they do?
3. Do their actions match their words?

Looking at yourself, do you tell the truth? Or, have you lied so often that you don’t know what the truth is?

So, once you’re caught in a lie, it is difficult or almost impossible to establish trust.

What about your actions? They speak very loudly.

Do you say one thing, but do the opposite? You cannot do that!

There is an old saying, “Actions speak louder that words.”

In order to be trusted, you must be believable.

This means that your words and your actions must not contradict each other.

Do what you say you’re going to do.

And remember that you only have one chance to make a first impression.

Make it truthfully!

If not today, when?

Two in five Americans report that they feel their social relationships are not meaningful.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 25% of Americans live by themselves!

Many countries are having the same experience while others do not.

South Africa reports an average of 10% of its citizens are lonely which is the lowest percentage found.

And, the percentage of lonely people is growing and is now considered an epidemic!

I guess we could always keep in touch with technology.

We must make the time to show our love and concern for others possibly using Zoom or Facetime.

Even a knock at the door with an outside visit would be much appreciated.

I know you’re busy, but you better not be too busy for KINDNESS!

We live in an UNKIND world!

Only you and I can make it better.

If not today, when?

Most of us are!

It has probably become a habit. Like most habits, however, there is an upside and a downside.

UPSIDE– If you’re hard on yourself, it can be a good thing if you push yourself to succeed at your chosen objectives.

DOWNSIDE– The negative consequence of being hard on yourself is low self esteem.

My dad always had a saying that I heard all through my childhood: “In the middle stands the truth!”

Translated into today’s topic, he would say,

“It’s OK to be hard on yourself if it helps you get out there and accomplish something with your life!

But, don’t be so critical that you no longer believe in yourself!”

Life is much more fun if you like yourself. Give yourself a break.

Our lives are difficult enough without you piling on!

If not today, when?

My neighbor, Jim, had trouble deciding if he wanted to retire from the construction field.

That was until he ran into a younger man he’d worked with previously.

The young man had a wife and three children and was finding it difficult to make ends meet, since he hadn’t worked in some time.

The next morning, Jim went to the union office and submitted his retirement paperwork. As for his replacement, he gave them the name of the young man.

That was six years ago, and that young husband and father has been employed ever since. (Miranda MacLean, Brutus, Michigan) 

Like Jim, from time to time, you will find yourself in a situation where you see an opportunity to help someone else.

Will you help the other person or walk away because you “don’t want to get involved.”

If not today, when?

When the supermarket clerk tallied up my groceries, I was $12 over what I had on me.

I began to remove items from the bags, when another shopper handed me a $20 bill. 

“Please don’t put yourself out,” I told him.

“Let me tell you a story,” he said. “My mother is in the hospital with cancer.

I visit her every day and bring her flowers.

I went this morning, and she got mad at me for spending my money on more flowers.

She demanded that I do something else with that money. So, here, please accept this.

It is my mother’s flowers.” (Leslie Wagner, Peel, Arkansas.)

The next time you see a stranger with some need, will you offer assistance?

Or, is it your habit to turn away?

Our daily lives are comprised of many choices.

CHOOSE KINDNESS!

If not today, when?

Aaron Collins passed away just three weeks after his 30th birthday, but he left a legacy that has touched thousands of people.

One of his final wishes was to give a waiter or waitress a $500 tip.

When his brother Seth fulfilled his wish, giving a waitress a $500 tip, he recorded a video and put it on YouTube.

Within days, the video was viewed over one million times, and $30,000.00 had been donated to continue the cause, now known as “Aaron’s Last Wish.”

In the video, Collins gave the waitress, Sarah Ward, the $500 tip, explaining that his brother had just passed away and that giving a $500 tip was his final wish.

Ward told him, “I’m going to be telling this story for the rest of my life.”

Over a hundred waitresses have now received $500 tips! (thelist.com)

Let us never forget the inherent goodness in people!

If not today, when?