Good Deeds...Just Do It!

Kindness and good deeds promote emotional, mental and even physical well being. There is not a day that goes by that we don't have an opportunity to do a "good deed" for someone. So why then do so many people struggle with doing good deeds for others if they are fully capable to do so? Lazy, selfish or just plain flat out ignorant? My guess would be all of the above. Perhaps they are, or perhaps they weren't raised by parents and grandparents like I was that taught me to be good to others, to show respect and that even something as simple as making a complete stranger smile was a good deed!

Doesn't it make sense that the more goodwill you spread the more positive the energy will be that surrounds you? I don't know about you, but I am a happy woman. Some might not know that nor do they know the emotional, physical and mental crap I've been through in the past 13 years but guess what? I don't go around talking about the bad times looking for sympathy. I look for good things to do that will impact others lives around me so that they too will feel the sense of happiness that I do on a daily basis. Life is too short to be unhappy. Life is too short to not give a damn, but so many people don't.

All of us are guilty of rushing through our day so quickly that we forget about the clerk at the store, the gas station attendant, the bank teller, the dry cleaner, the hostess/host, or the server at the restaurant,..so STOP and say "thank you"..You know, they are people just like anyone else and they too deserve to be treated well. So pay them all a little respect how 'bout it? They are living their lives and have their own hopes, dreams and sorrows. The next time your in the checkout lane stop counting your money...look  cashier in the eyes and genuinely ask: "How are you today?" or say "You look very nice today!" A kind word to a stranger will make both of you feel good!What you say to that one person could make all the difference in the world to them, and it takes such little effort on your behalf.

 I always like the "pay it forward" idea. I practice it daily and I still wish there were more people that lived with that intention. Unfortunately we live in a very greedy, self-oriented society where people only give when they feel they can get something back. Shame on you! The concept of doing something good for another person and never personally getting anything back from it is alien to many, and downright offensive to some. However, the few people that give without the desire to receive seem to live happy lives full of good things.

 This may make some of you angry, but so be it; Listen, if you think that you are too good for this, that you're role doesn't consist of you attributing to kindness, or if your job title gives you the liberty to set yourself aside from us little people...your title doesn't mean shit if you can't show a little respect toward others, you should be ashamed of yourself!  Please come down off that pedestal you are sitting on and join the normal people for a while, you just might like it! I truly believe in good deeds and karma. 

Take today for example...here I was sitting and writing a blog about 'good deeds' when my mother came screaming in the house "OMG Shelly help me!" I dropped what I was doing and flew down the steps from my office only to find her (Maryanns) tush sticking out the the lower deck as she handed me a baby kitten. A mama cat went under the decks and had herself a litter. My mother felt it was her job to rescue them, feed them and give them better shelter. What can I say, everyone feels safe at my house. We are like the happiness hotel to all the stray animals in the neighborhood.

 Apparently mom heard screaming and whining so she crawled under the deck. (imagine that if you would)...By the time I got outside, there was one stuck in between the house and the beams of the foundation. Now, anyone who knows my dad (or as I like to call him BIG MIKE) would know that when he builds something, it isn't going anywhere EVER! We could not get the boards apart to free the kitten. Mom and I tried but we couldn't get the kitten out so we then called for backup! One of the neighbor guys came over, crawled under the decks and rescued the baby kitten. Jerry is our hero of the day! That was a good deed. I was so happy and  being the pet lover that I am was also so grateful to this kind man for saving the day! He didn't think anything of it, but we thought the world of him!

 In this day and age, we also find ourselves in a time where gratitude is not shown as it should be.If we all did good deeds and asked people to pay it forward, imagine the change it could make in the world. Perhaps it would be worthwhile to resurrect this idea and begin spreading it again. The positive impact might be greater than we could ever imagine, and life would be good.Hey, just do it! Remember, smile at someone today, do a good deed, for someday, when you least expect it, life will repay you!

Meet my two new little furry friends.... aren't they adorable?