And you should really do that too.
Really...like right now... take a minute, think back over your day and try to find the best thing that happened...
Found it? Great!
Now say, "thank you!"
Wasn't that fantastic?
Lol...yes...I might sound a little like Chris Traeger from Parks and Recreation...but I promise, you will thank me for it!
Okay! Now that we are feeling all warm and fuzzy from our thankful thoughts, I want to continue discussing "The Power of Kindness." (a really awesome book written by Piero Ferrucci)
Today, the discussion is about trust.
However before I begin, because I sometime's wish I lived in a 50's sitcom, here is a delightful Western World History film from 1950 on the Importance of Trust.
Poor Eddy...he just want's to be trusted...
But in all honesty, this video is pretty swell, and Eddy's dad is a super smart man.
We put our trust in people all around us everyday. We allow people to fix our food, make products we use and rely on everyday, and we even share public spaces with them. But why?
Because we ourselves are trustworthy, so we assume that the majority of other people out there are as well.
It's not usually until someone hands us a reason to be deemed untrustworthy that we start not to trust them.
But imagine for a moment a world where you trusted no one.
You would wake up fearful for you life in almost every waking moment, and would be willing to help no one--and well, that just sounds awful.
So, how does this apply to kindness?
I am going to go back to my Kind Hart in America trip, on one of my last days.
My family and I had stop to have dinner with my mom at a McDonald's on our way out of Louisiana, and there was an older gentleman who looked homeless sitting at a booth by himself.
He looked kind of "sketchy," and he was asking everyone who passed by for some chicken nuggets, and at first, I did what everyone else did...I just ignored him.
Did I trust him? Well.......ok....no.
But, I was on a mission of kindness, and so I decided to go out on a limb and I bought him a chicken nugget Happy Meal anyway.
And of course, within five minutes of that happening, he was getting kicked out by a manager for saying inappropriate things to another customer.....sigh.
Okay, okay...so I know, now you are thinking that I am being totally counterproductive with this story...but wait, it does get better...
Later on, somewhere in Alabama, we saw a young couple with a dog, who looked "homeless" and pretty dirty on the side of the road asking for help because they were out of money and hungry.
Without any thought involved, I immediately trusted them. I dug out some chips, soda, water, and cookies that we had in our car and quickly handed them over to the couple. And without delay, they opened a bag of chips and a bottle of water and began devouring them like they had not eaten in days.
If I had let the first incident, with the smelly old guy in McDonald's break my trust in all people asking for help, I could not have helped this couple.
"Trust is a gift."
Just remember if you help someone, and they take advantage of that help, they are just one person. Humanity needs your trust, and with trust comes love....and "love is all you need."
Alright guys, I am getting up in a little over 5 hours to attempt to run a mile or maybe more...so I am going to bed...
Good night!
Be kind,
Kelly Airhart
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