For 34 years, Lou Ann Alexander worked as a flight attendant. But at the age of 58, she received a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. So, she was making plans for hospice care.

Her older brother, Rex, was flying to see her when he asked the flight attendant if he could speak to the passengers.

He talked about her and passed his phone around with photos of her. He then handed out napkins and asked if they’d write a little something .

Ninety-six passengers responded.

Some drew pictures. But mostly, there were warm words: “Your brother made me love you, and I don’t even know you.”

And “My favorite quote: ‘You’re braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.’” His sister passed away, but he never forgot the compassion shown that day.

“I’m just amazed that total strangers will reach out and show so much empathy and concern.” (Arizona Republic)

We are not strangers. We’re all children of God!

Yes, it’s one of those few things in life where everyone wins and nobody loses!

You obviously feel better about yourself and the recipient feels better also.

The bigger the kindness, the bigger the win for both parties.

If your kindness is genuine, your motive is only to benefit the other person.

And that’s the spirit in which it should be given.

If it is to receive thanks, gratitude or recognition, it isn’t genuine.

True kindness makes the world a better place with or without thanks?

Always remember, if you are to become a GIVER, you must remove your EGO from the transaction.

Also, many people, who do good things for others, may have a hidden agenda. This is when kindness is used as a manipulative tool to gain some advantage.

Don’t go there!

Nigeria is a long way from University Heights, Ohio.

Which is why Felicia Ikpum hadn’t seen her son Mike Tersea for four years, ever since he’d left Nigeria on a basketball scholarship to John Carroll University.

But with his graduation from John Carroll looming, Tersea’s teachers and classmates thought his mother should be at the ceremony.

“We wanted to do something valuable for one of our classmates,” Joe Kyburz, the senior-class president, told the Baltimore Sun.

Knowing Ikpum couldn’t afford the plane ticket or hotel, the school raised $1,763 to bring her over.

Nigeria can be a dangerous place.

Yet, Felicia traveled 12 hours through terrorist-held territory to make the flight.

What was her reaction when she laid eyes on her son after four years?

“I screamed, I shouted!”

Be kind! We’re in short supply!

Thirty years ago, his world almost fell apart. He had surgery, was fired, and was informed by the IRS that his employer had not paid employment taxes.

After a few weeks, he saw a flyer about a Japanese festival. Although a physical and emotional wreck, he decided to go.

There, he met a Japanese gentleman with whom he chatted for hours.

A few months later, he came home to find a bouquet of flowers and a letter at his door.

It was from that same friend. Inside the letter was a check for $10,000 to help him through a rough patch.

Sixteen years later, he met a family that had been evicted from their home and needed $5,000 to close the escrow on a new house.

Without hesitation, he handed them a check for the full amount. They call him their angel, but he remind them that he, too, once had an angel. (Hassmik Mahdessian, Glendale, CA)

If not today, when?

They were the most profound promises of our lives!

“To have and to hold” is a huge act of trust to give one’s body over to another.

“For better, for worse” is the most profound promise of them all. It is an acknowledgement that your life together could have a downside.

“For richer, for poorer” can put a big strain on the couple. Dreams don’t always come true.

“In sickness and in health” are experienced during the course of every marriage. In the event of sickness, the healthy spouse should be the primary care giver.

“Till death do us part” is for most of us a long time. This particular promise is not open to interpretation. It is absolute.

Promises made must be promises kept!

If not today, when?

Is it a love created by physical attraction?

Is it loving someone because of the financial security he or she can bring?

Is it wanting to possess the other person?

II think real love is not self-serving in any way.

Simply put, real love is the desire to see the loved one enjoy the best life possible.

It is not circumstance dependent! It is given regardless of events that occur all through life.

Real love is therefore a genuine focus on the wellness of the loved one.

Real love is expressed in DEEDS performed on behalf of the one loved, not WORDS alone!

Talk is cheap. Deeds require effort and commitment.

Can you have real love for someone who doesn’t love you? Yes! If your love is real, you only want goodness and blessings for them always.

PRACTICE REAL LOVE!

Are you doing something important with your life?

There are two categories of importance: Important to you and to others.

Do you look upon yourself only as an individual or as a member of society? This is a very vital issue that each of us must address.

We must be TAKERS and also GIVERS if our world is to be at peace.

A growing percentage of every community is made up of people desperate for food and shelter!

None of us should ignore this reality because it won’t diminish without the help of GIVERS!

Last Sunday, I spent the day with a 26 year old man I’ve known for nine years. Since birth, his daily life has been one of struggle, desperation and betrayal.

We take food and shelter for granted. He does not and never did.

What’s important? He and the millions like him!

If not today, when?

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We all do it from time to time.

It is most often used on three occasions:

1. When we disagree with someone, but don’t want to be disagreeable.

2. When we are with someone we dislike, but don’t want to show it.

3. When we are hurting inside, but don’t want others to know.

It is a mask we wear to get through a situation that could otherwise spin out of control.

It is a convenient way to protect ourselves, but is, however, not genuine. It definitely won’t lead to a deeper understanding between you and the other party.

Political Correctness fosters ingenuine behavior. A fake smile, therefore is a valuable tool if you’re into Political Correctness.

This type of behavior is another reason we aren’t as close to people as we should be.

Honesty is the most essential building block of good relationships!

Try it. You’ll like it!

As the head of a big-city hospital’s emergency department, Susan O’Mara has always focused on providing quick answers to people in crisis:

A relative desperate for information.

An injured person facing a very long wait.

A colleague exhausted from dealing with fed-up patients.

But until a special training class a few months ago, O’Mara didn’t consider whether there were ways to be more compassionate in her response.

The training taught the doctor to pause and listen, and not respond defensively to an angry patient.

She said it has helped her focus better and find a deeper well of sympathy, even as she deals with trying situations.

“You want to get patients from Point A to Point B with compassion, and also not internalize and feel badly yourself,” she said.

“To approach someone who is angry with compassion is the holy grail of emergency medicine!”

Will you become more compassionate?

Rebekka Garvison could feel the passengers’ eyes rolling as she walked toward her seat carrying her newborn, Rylee.

They were flying from Kalamazoo, Michigan, to Fort Rucker, Alabama, where Rebekka’s husband was stationed.

Minutes into the flight, Rylee wailed. A nearby couple glared, so Rebekka moved.

Rylee was still crying when their seatmate, Nyfesha Miller, asked if she could try holding her. Rylee quickly fell asleep in Miller’s arms and stayed that way throughout the flight.

“Nyfesha Miller, you will never understand how happy this act of kindness has made my family,” Rebekka wrote on Facebook.

“You could’ve just been irritated like everyone else, but you held Rylee the entire flight and let me get some rest and peace of mind.”  (CBS News)

Acts of kindness, particularly when offered to strangers, make the world a much better place.

When is the last time you did some kind thing for a complete stranger?

If not today, when?