The Fruit of the Spirit--Goodness!

The Smile

Author: Chris Gregory

Recently I was put in a nursing home to recover from a critically ill ailment. For the first time in my life I was totally dependent on others. I just lay there in the bed being pumped with antibiotics and fluids. It gave me a lot of time to reflect and slowly I become aware of my surroundings.

Over the course of a few days I started to really appreciate the housekeeper. She was an elderly lady who didn’t speak English. Every morning at 6:30 she would try to sneak into my room quietly so she wouldn’t disturb me. However, on every occasion I would awake and see her. She would try to apologize and at the same time gave this amazing smile. It got that I would be just waiting to see her come in and give that wonderful smile.

I found out from one of the nurses that there was an employee rewards program. I asked the nurse to write an appreciation card for my housekeeper.

I wrote: “Thank you for your incredible smile every morning. It fills the room with happiness and makes every day worth living.”

When the nurse put the card up another nurse came into my room about ten minutes later and asked if I had written that card for the housekeeper. I said yes and asked if it was okay.

The nurse said that I had to know that the housekeeper was out in the hall crying her eyes out.

Had I done something wrong or inappropriate? Then the nurse went on to tell me that the housekeeper had worked there for thirty years and had never received a rewards card.

It hit me like a ton of bricks. Just a few simple words made such a difference. It was beautiful! If you think she smiled before you should have seen her the next day.

From that day forward I tried to recognize someone every day for the good things they showed. The results were amazing. People came in with smiles, they talked more, they laughed more, they enjoyed life more.

The side effects were astounding. It seems the more I tried to recognize others the better I got.

I’m out of the nursing home now and almost fully recovered.

I thank my housekeeper for helping me see just how incredibly beautiful life is.

Do yourself a favor and tell your loved ones just how much they mean to you. It can make the world of difference with both them and you.

I really wish people would begin to see things more clearly, then perhaps they could see within themselves the goodness they harbor deep inside. It sits silently, just waiting for us to use it and then when the time comes that we need something, out pours that goodness that had been bottled up. I know most of you know what I'm talking about, you do something good in hopes of recognition or a return favor. Sound familiar? Thinking back to the kindness post, goodness goes right along with it. Without one you can't have the other, yet most of us have forgotten that. Doing things out of the goodness of our hearts can be quite hard for most. Yet, like most things that are hard in the beginning, it does become easier over time and more satisfying. I read somewhere that the average human being only uses a small percentage of their lung capacity. Just like our lungs, most people only use a small percentage of their capacity for goodness each day. Then, in times of need we use more as a survival mechanism. Being good and doing good things should become a daily habit and part of living a happy lifestyle. Plus, goodness can be contagious, so go spread some!

Take a minute to check this article out & see how you can begin to use more of your capacity of goodness each day. It is about the concept of having a "Small Act of Goodness website, that sends an e-mail each morning to subscribers, giving them a small, fun task to implement, which will make people smile"! While there is no actual website there is a link to a facebook page that was started & posts a weekly challenge. There is also a page on tumblr that talks about sharing smiles! Worth checking out both of those links which can be found after clicking this one:
 Small Act of Goodness!
*You may also want to skim through the comments on there for links to various sites that people have posted!

If that doesn't peak your interest perhaps becoming a part of Operation Beautiful might help. It's something I find personally fulfilling and I love leaving notes in random places now!
Operation Beautiful!