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KIND WORDS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sponsored in memory of my grandfather, Alfred Kagan, of Blessed Memory. For more information about sponsorship contact info@... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- One Good Deed Can Last a Lifetime The author wishes to remain anonymousEdited by Shmuel Greenbaum Printed with Permission of http://www.PartnersInKindness.org Years ago I was living in Boston. I was fortunate to have a job a few blocks away from my home, so I walked to and from work every day, regardless of the weather. One winter evening, after a few inches of snow had fallen (and a couple of feet had been plowed to the sides of the street), I was headed home with my arms full of dry-cleaning. I came to a corner where the snow was so high there was no way I could climb over without the use of my arms (which were full of dry-cleaning)! As I was resolving to turn around and find a break where I could walk in the street, a couple of teens who had been walking ahead of me saw my problem and turned back to help. A young lady took my clothing while her friend helped me climb safely over the snow. When I was on the other side, the girl gave me back my cleaning and we all said good night with happy smiles. What those teens - now adults - may never know is that I often replay this scene in my mind whenever I'm feeling down, so their spontaneous act of kindness has lasted 16 years - and counting! ---------------------------------------------------------------- "If I Were…" From Kindness: Making a Difference in People's Lives: Formulas, stories, and insights By Zelig Pliskin Printed with Permission of Shaar Press Questions that begin with, "If I were …?" can give us a new perspective on things. Here are some possibilities: * "If I were this person, what would I want others to do for me?" * "If I were given a life mission to help this person, what would I do?" * "If I were this person’s best friend, what would I do for him?" * "If I were at the ultimate level of compassion and kindness, what would I say or do now?" * "If I were going to be treated by others the way I treat this person, what would I say or do?" We might not always be able to live up to the standards suggested by these questions. But they give us a different viewpoint through which to see the situation. If we were this person, what would we be hoping that others would do for us. We view others in need from the outside. Imagining that we were this person enables us to see things from his point of view. If I felt the same need that he feels, what would I hope that others would do for me? If I were in the same predicament or had the same problem, what would I want others to do for me? We might not consider someone else’s needs as important to us. To us this person might be just one of many other individuals who have needs, wants, and problems. But if we were to view meeting his needs and solving his problems as our own life task and obligations what we could do for him increases in priority and importance. A best friend will go beyond the call of duty to help his buddy. Some things will seem too difficult to do for an acquaintance or even a good friend. But if someone is our best friend, we will make sacrifices that we would not ordinarily be prepared to make. There exist unlimited levels of kindness and compassion. We are all at different levels along a continuum. A person who has no connection with these attributes probably will not be reading this book. Only the rare human being is on the highest level. Regardless of our present level, when we are prepared to view a situation from the highest level, we will see beyond what we ordinarily would. If we would be aware that we are deciding our own fate by the way we treat this person, we would go out of our way to do all we could. Of course, we can’t maintain this level consistently with everyone we encounter who needs our help. But every once in a while, this will do wonders for our upgrading our level of kindness. And one last, "If I were…" question: "If I were going to view this as my final opportunity to do one last good deed in this world, what would I do?" As you contemplate this question, you will experience its amazing power. Because eventually we will be faced with our actual one last opportunity and we never know when it will be. I heard this story from one of my students: I used to say, "If I were…" as a way of getting out of helping people. I would say things like, "If I were a rich man I would help people out, but I don’t have a lot of money." "If I were a person with more time, I would do more for others. But I’m always too busy." "If I were brighter I could help others with my knowledge. But what do I really know?" Then I found the power of a more helpful, "If I were…" statement. "If I were this person what would I want me to do for him?" This opened my eyes to the plight of the people who needed my help. Then I found that I had more resources than I realized I had. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kind Words is a free weekly e-mail distributed by Partners In Kindness. The archive for Kind Words e-mails is located at: Although the content of these e-mails contains copyrighted material, Partners in Kindness allows users who register at our website to reprint them in print, on a website, or on an e-mail distribution list at no cost. If you have permission to reprint this e-mail, please ensure that you reprint the entire e-mail (including this notice). Names of people, places, and other details mentioned in these stories may have been changed to protect privacy. Kindness is like music, art, sports or any other discipline -- it can only be mastered with practice, training, and lots and lots of encouragement. That is what PartnersInKindness.org is trying to promote. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PartnersInKindness For further information, please visit our Website http://www.PartnersInKindness.org e-mail: info@... ----------------------------------------------------------------- To un-subscribe send a blank e-mail to: Kindness-unsubscribe@... To subscribe send a blank e-mail to: Kindness-subscribe@...
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