Sometimes, my children, you are put into situations to learn life lessons. Most of the time, these lessons are not pleasant. They are not something you appreciate at the time, but they mold your character and you learn to appreciate them later. I want to share an experience from this morning that, in the grand scheme of life, was not a huge life lesson. However, it made me think about situations you might go through that may seem insignificant to others, but can help to make you a better person.
My morning started off like any other - lots of kisses and giggles, and wishings of a "good day" to each other. I headed out on my daily commute to work, and decided to stop at Starbucks for a morning drink. I was waiting for my turn to enter the drive-thru when a black GMC truck driven by a young man pulled in front of me. He came from the other direction, saw me and still decided that he should be next in line. In that moment, I was pretty annoyed, even angry. How inconsiderate of him; how selfish of him! The line was not a quick one, so I had a few minutes to sit and stew over this jerk in front of me who obviously thought that he was so much more important and his time more precious. Right before I approached the window to pay, I had a thought - "If I was a better person, I would turn this situation around and pay for the customer behind me." Honestly, it was just a thought and I did not have any real intention of doing it. But, once I got to the window, my mind was changed. I told the cashier to let them know I had been cut in line by the person in front of me, but instead of letting it ruin my day, I wanted to make theirs. The guy looked pretty surprised and was very thankful to me for doing something so nice. It made me feel a little better at the time, although I was still pretty annoyed by the guy in the black truck.
Honestly, I have no idea if I "made the day" of the person behind me. And, I have no clue if the guy in the black truck gave a second thought to his rude actions this morning. What I do know is that I did something kind for someone else, even when it was not what I wanted to do. Sometimes, in life, that is exactly what you will be faced with - and sometimes, on a much grander scale. You may have a boss who treats you like dirt, but that doesn't mean that you treat your coworkers or subordinates in that same manner. There may be someone at school who is ruthless and cruel to you, but do not let that harden your kind and gentle heart. I will be frank and honest - there are some pretty ugly, nasty adults AND children in this world. Being the bigger person will probably not make you feel any better about someone being mean to you - just like paying for the person behind me did not make me forget or stop being angry about the guy cutting in front of me. What you are doing, though, is perpetuating kindness to others. What might seems small to you, could potentially reach tens or even hundreds of others if you live that way every day. What if the person behind me AND the guy at the window decide that because of what they witnessed through me, they should do something nice for someone else today as well? If everyone did that just based on one person's random act of kindness, the world would be a much sweeter place.
What I want you to remember from all of this is that while you are small, you can still have such a huge impact on the world just by how you live and react to each situation in your life. I love you both so very much, and no matter how mean and ugly the world seems, you are better than that. Always know that your heart and soul are better than that, and hold yourself to that standard. <3
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