This morning I saw a beautiful video that called out to be shared as powerfully as the need to do what is portrayed here. Imagine a day in which you see opportunities to do a good turn and could step back and watch the ripple effect on the world around you. I’ve heard it called Random Acts of Kindness or  Pay It Forward, as was evidenced in the movie by that same name, but this can be done simply in a spontaneous way, at the speed of thought. Paying the toll for someone behind you, leaving an extra generous tip for your server in a restaurant, helping someone carry a package, open a door, find their car keys, offer a hug, a listening ear…all are fair game. See how many you can come up with.

A few years ago, I was driving in Philadelphia with a friend, on rain slicked cobblestone Germantown Avenue (Chestnut Hill), took a skid and ran the car up on a curb, narrowly missing a wall in front of a church. As I sent forth a reallllyyy fervent prayer, I felt unseen hands guide us to safety. Unfortunately, my right rear tire didn’t fare as well as my friend Pat (a.ka. Harmony) and I did and it required changing. As we took turns holding an umbrella, we struggled to get the tire and jack out of the truck, getting wetter by the minute. Again I sent out a call, this time for an angel to assist us with task of getting back on the road without becoming drowned rats. Within 5 minutes, a young man pulled up in a white car behind us. Smiling, he went to work, changed the tire as we held the umbrella over him. While he was doing his Mitzvah (Hebrew for ‘good deed’), he was telling us how his parents had taught about being of service. I smiled since mine had modeled that for me as well. When he was finished, I offered him money and he declined, asking me to pay it forward. We hugged him and went on our way. Harmony and I looked at each other and smiled knowingly that we had indeed been sent our angel. I don’t recall how I paid it forward that day, but I do it daily, knowing that there is more than enough of everything to go around.

In times of crisis, people tend to come together to take care of each other. Flood, famine, terrorist attacks…seem to draw folks together, having them reach into their pockets and their hearts. What if we just did it naturally, all the time, every day? There are so many people on the planet who feel lonely, un-needed, unwanted, hopeless. I’m convinced that some of the mental health challenges people face come from believing that they don’t matter. Everyone has something to offer. How about you?

In the video, you can see how the kindness shown comes winging back at the originator of the loving act, just as a boomerang tossed out, returns to the hand that lofted it outward.

http://www.godvine.com/Kindness-Boomerang-This-is-What-Life-is-All-About-966.html The music is by Hassidic Hip Hop Reggae Rapper Matisyahu which is a beautiful juxtaposition since the film was created by a Christian organization called God Vine(: