Make sure to scatter kindness

“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” — Aesop

In honor of World Kindness Day and debuting on QVC Television nationwide are my Tokens of Kindness. They are packaged in a set of 10 tokens. The idea behind the Tokens of Kindness is to keep the token in your pocket and pass it on to someone who was kind to you. Then, the recipient can ‘pass on’ the token to someone else who was kind to them.

Considered to be a virtue and an important quality, kindness is the act of being considerate, compassionate and empathetic towards others. Kindness is the common thread which can bind us all.

Can you imagine a world where everyone showed a little kindness or compassion, or did a favor for someone just once a day?

There are hundreds of opportunities to give of your time, to bring help and happiness to someone. Your influence on other people’s lives is immeasurable. God has hand-selected you, for you’re a gift to others from God. By being friendlier, more patient, understanding and speaking kindly to another, you are being more helpful than you know. Passing out lovely thoughts, words and actions, you are changing lives and putting everlasting joy into your own. Think of it this way: Live in such a way that those who know you, but don’t know God, will come to know God because of you.

So, wake up each day and ask God, “How can I be a blessing to someone today?” and “I will not go to sleep until I have lifted up someone.” Just think of how many lives would be changed and consoled. However, maybe you’re disheartened, weary, and like a magnet, your mind keeps going back to the mistakes, the regrets and disappointments of the past. Yet, one of the best ways to lighten the weight of your burden is to lose yourself in the service of others. We all have difficulties to face and daily challenges, but there is a common quality among those who have suffered. They now have a life filled with compassion. Compassion is the ability to understand with tenderheartedness and kindness. It is the longing to help others go through difficult times, because you have experienced these trials.

No matter where you are in life, you can be a beacon of hope and encouragement to someone else. Thus, go out each day and use a portion of your time to do kind deeds. As you give out love, benevolences and helpfulness, the same will always come back to you.

With every act of kindness, a blessing will follow:

• When you lift up others, God will lift you.

• When you help people who come across your path, God will put people across your path to help you.

• When you offer acts of kindness, God will see to it that acts of kindness will come back to you.

Consider your own garden. If you plant one perennial seed; and if it grows, you may reap a small harvest. Yet, if you plant a whole packet of perennial seeds, your harvest could multiply a hundredfold.

Hence, focus on kindness. Share and care generously. Mentor a young person or volunteer in your community. Send an inspirational card or a cheerful email to a friend. Applaud another’s good efforts. Be there for people. Listen to them talk and offer an inspiring word to start them moving on the right path.

There is great power in your words. How will you use them today? Speaking a few caring words to another might be one of the most important things you’ll ever do. “Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, Sweetness to the soul and health to the bones.” (Proverbs 16:24). Let your speech always be gracious. Give sincere words of praise daily. Tell your friends and family often that you appreciate them. Offer your child’s teacher or coworkers a word of gratitude. Tell someone who is working hard to complete a task that you ‘believe in them,’ that they’ll ‘accomplish their goals’ and that ‘God’s hand is moving greatly in their life.’ Reader, Bill Garvey wrote, “I used to run construction crews. Back then, we had daily meetings with the crews, and I used to end the meeting with, “Go forth and do good.” And they usually did.”

Let us always treat our friends with love, strangers with kindness, and opposition with understanding. The luxury of doing good deeds surpasses every other personal enjoyment, for it is magnified by God Himself. The way we live our lives, can be the best witness of God’s love to someone in need. A simple smile is the most important thing we wear, and when shared, it softens stress and eases life. It may be a compliment, a helping hand or a simple hello. Silently pray for someone. “Prayer is always positive,” suggests a reader via email. “Ask God to bless people with the good things in life and your own life will be bliss!”

You may have been struggling for a long time. But as you reach out to others with daily acts of kindness, all of a sudden, things will turn in your favor. You’ll feel better. A need will be met. And past stumbling blocks will become stepping stones to your heart’s desire.

Soon, God is going to bring you an opportunity that will take you to a new place of blessings. So, keep using your gifts, energy and enthusiasm to enrich the lives of others. Live life with honor and integrity and always be on the lookout for people that you can help. Look around and treat yourself to the greatest joy in life. And that is doing something nice for someone else. Then behold, someone will be on the lookout to help you, too.

Being kind matters. Like circling my ‘Kindness Tokens’ from one person to another, let’s begin the process of circulating joy, and miraculous effects will follow.

God bless you, dear readers; you mean so much to me.