Last year we began a small movement that tried to replace division and hatred tied to the negative legacy of 9/11 with the understated power of kindness.
This year, let's do it again. Ten years after the tragedy that marred a country and scarred the hearts of Americans everywhere, it is a far more important memorial that we erect in honor of the fallen and the lost that says we have grown, evolved and matured as a country past the pain, the anger and the fear.
We've learned what is important, and how brief life can be, and we have learned to appreciate the living while they are here instead of waiting for another tragedy to remind us of that grit of which we are made.
Instead, we can be nice. Many of us are already nice, so this just gives us the opportunity to be nicer. And that alone can make the day of a complete stranger in ways we might not even realize.
When I first moved to California in 1989 I had an encounter in a grocery store that would change the way I thought about the little kindnesses. I was in line behind a lady who had forgotten something in the store, so she asked if I would hold her place. I said that I would but the line moved before she could get back. Instead of going ahead, I started to unload her basket onto the conveyor belt. It was a partially selfish gesture, to help keep things moving so I could get my items checked out and I could leave.
But when this elderly lady came back and saw what I had done for her she was so appreciative that I had helped her - it was like that kind of thing was a special event instead of a common occurrence. For me, it was no real effort on my part but it made her entire day.
This is the kind of thing we can all do more of all the time. It takes no real effort on our part to be nicer than people expect, and that niceness can often make someone else's day.
So this is my challenge to you. For one day, be nice(r) than you normally would. Honor your life and the lives of others around you with this pledge.
Join the love train. Again. :)
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