|
I LOVE this quote. I am a collector of quotes and when I find one I like to jot them down and save them to pull out later to ponder. When I saw this one I wished I had ben the one to write it and get credit for it.
People do appreciate the small gestures. When the boys were little I always tried to lead by example and instill in them manners that would carry them through life. Chris has always been a gentleman and of course his example was ever present in their lives. After all—I fell in love with him when I discovered he always had a clean handkerchief for me to use in case of tears. (Me, cry? Never. 🙂 )
Think about it. How does it make you feel when someone goes out of their way to hold a door open for you?
How do you feel when someone allows you to go ahead of them in a long line when you only have one or two items to buy?
Do you feel extra special when someone tells you how nice you look in a certain color?
Tonight I overtipped, By a lot. It felt great.
People get so caught up in life and it is so busy and hectic for so many people. I understand that many people really do carry the weight of the world on their shoulders. Times are tough for a lot of folks and it is a struggle every single day. That is what makes me want to do those little things that just make a tiny difference in the day of someone whose path I cross.
I want the world to feel a bit lighter. A bit like Gene Kelly dancing in the rain.
My wish for you today is that you find one way today to make a small difference in someone’s day. Make an effort. It will feel good.
It's Just Life 
You’re so right. Doing or receiving a small act of kindness can instantly make someone believe the whole world is a better place. Sometimes, I think, we’re just so busy that we don’t even think about all the positive feeling we could easily be spreading.
Sharon–Thanks for stopping by! I think are so right. We are always so busy rushing around here and there with our agendas and to do lists that sometimes we are blind to those around us and what difference a small gesture can make to someone else. Thanks so much for taking time to leave a comment!
I do the same thing. It makes me feel a lot better having done so.
Thanks for stopping by!! It is a great quote, isn’t it? I think it just takes one person to get the ball rolling on kindness. It can be contagious. Thanks again for stopping by!
Great way to start a Sunday morning! Small gestures often have a big impact.
Indeed it is those small gestures that make a huge difference. Now if we could just get everyone to adopt that attitude!
I love that quote. I love that scene in the movie. I had a guy in front of me at a store yesterday who walked with a bad limp. He opened the door first but despite his handicap he made an effort to hold the door open for me. Not only does a gesture like that make someone happy it also puts them in the pay it forward mood.
EXACTLY, Sonia!! His mama raised him right!!!
Love this quote!
it is quickly becoming one of my favorites!!! Thanks for stopping by, Pam!!! Hope all is well with you guys!
More Parents Need To Teach Their Children, This especially Their Sons.
I think there is still hope for the world but yes—-a lot of young folks lack the social graces that they need to have in my humble opinion!!! Thanks for stopping by, Cynthia!!!
I love it and thanks I will. Not sure what yet but I guess it will feel right at the right moment!
It definitely will present itself to you. I know that!!!! Thanks, Joanna!
Really good point. The other day, my metro card (the card I used to get on the subway), had got bent in my pocket, so the turnstile kept saying “please swipe again”. I tried it at 3 other turnstiles before a woman with a heavy accent came over to me and said “let me help”, and swiped her card for me, letting me through the turnstile. It was such a small gesture but I haven’t stopped thinking about it since.
Hey—I know exactly what you are talking about!!! Not only the small gesture but the metro card. Our son is a grad student at Columbia business school and we made our first visit to NYC a couple weekends ago. When I swiped the card it gave me that message a couple of times but you know what? i was doing it too fast! By the end of the weekend I had the hang of it. 🙂 But that lady ROCKS!!!
Oh, Beth Ann, you have made a difference in so many lives via your caring ways and words.
You are correct that it does not take much effort to make a difference. I try, especially, to encourage young people by sending thank you notes when they deserve special thanks. Or I offer verbal praise and encouragement, not in a fake way, but when it is truly deserved.
Exactly. You “get” it. I love that you write thank you notes. I wholeheartedly agree that that is a great way to show the love and encouragement that sometimes gets left by the wayside in our busy lives. I have a special box that I keep special cards and notes in and cards that you have sent me are in there!
Ah, that is so sweet, I keep those personal notes, too.
It’s a beautiful quote. You are right Beth Ann, doing for someone else and/or thinking of someone else is the right thing to do. It makes me smile. We feel so much better about ourselves when we do for others. Sometimes all it takes is a smile. Oh and that is a very pretty Autumn click you took up there!
Thank you, dear friend!! It is a very simple truth, isn’t it? And it takes no money to make a smile happen. 🙂 The pic is of one of my trees in front of our house. It just changed colors this week. The other two haven’t changed yet. Fall seems slow to me this year.
You’re right–we do forget sometimes how good doing small kindnesses for others makes us feel. I prefer the anonymous gifts, such as purchasing the meal of the car behind me in the drive through line. Not just because I’m bashful, but because the person on the receiving end will look at the entire world around them a little differently, at least for a couple of days.
I totally agree! The anonymous give is the absolute best!!!! Thanks so much for stopping by and taking the time to comment. It’s those small things that make me smile! 🙂
I love this 🙂 I too am a manic collector of quotes– I scramble for anything to write on when I come across one and am not above wipping out the iPhone to snap an awkward photo of my computer screen or a book page.
This is a good reminder– one of my favorites is when you pay for the person in line behind you at Starbucks. It’s such a small gesture but you get to drive away knowing that you just gave a stranger a secret sneaky surprise. It’s a great feeling.
It is absolutely a great feeling! I totally agree!!! I have been both the recipient and the giver and both feel pretty darn good!!!
Such little things do matter… they can make one smile; what feeling is more precious than that!? Beautifully written. 🙂
-HA
Thank you so much! And welcome to my blog!!!
great quote! great movie too!
why anyone would actually choose to spread more negativity, hate and lack of courtesy around this already trial filled world is beyond me. Being kind, being courteous seems like a lot less energy if you ask me. Fanning the flames of hate takes a lot of energy — sucks the air out of your own joy: why would you choose that? makes no sense to me.
thanks for being one of the lights in the darkness! 🙂
Aw thanks! I think we are birds of a feather!!!!
It is a lovely quote and very true.
Thanks so much for stopping by and commenting!! It is a great quote! I wish I had said it first but at least I could pass it on!
Wonderful words. I try to live my life this way. It takes so little for a kind gesture.My daughter just called to say she has invited her partner’s teenage niece to spend some time with them while she is sorting out some things in her life. I’m so proud of her.
You have taught her well and that does not surprise me one little bit!
I really do notice those special tidbits other do for me, My hubby is such a gentleman and I always make sure to compliment my boys when they hold the door for others. Sometimes when I’m waiting for the elevator at work a young man will be there ahead of me, I never expect them to hold the elevator door and let me in first but when they do, I smile and say, “your mama taught you well”! I like doing the unexpected for others as well, like when they are a couple of pennies short in the check out, their reactions are heart warming. Thanks for the reminder to be kind to other, even in simple ways.
You definitely get it!!! A lot of people do and we just have to take those chances when we can!
I love it when I can allow someone else to go ahead of me in line when they just have a couple of items. They always smile so much & it makes my day. I don’t have a lot of money, so I sometimes have to get creative in the way I can lighten someone else’s day.
That’s exactly what I am talking about! It doesn’t take money to be nice, does it????
Not at all! I remember trying to do something nice for a couple my first husband & I met in a couples workshop. Since they were young parents, we decided to send them breakfast in bed. We cooked a “wife saver” overnight & got up really early to compile muffins, fruit, coffee, juice, etc. with the wife saver. We put it in a warming tray & drove halfway across the city to put the gift-wrapped box on their doorstep. We rang their doorbell & quickly pulled our vehicle around the corner where we could still see their step to make sure they got it. You should have seen the looks on the wife’s face when she opened her door in her housecoat! Our next group meeting, the couple was bragging about the “surprise” they got.
That is a wonderful story!!! Thank you for sharing!!!
Where I live most of the people are so thoughtful of others and take care of the residents as do the workers. After both of my best friends who lived in the house next to me died, a member of my church wrote me a letter that helped me get through my mourning. That letter meant so much to me. Someone took the time to write a beautiful letter which made me feel better.
You would do the same thing— I know it. :-). Love you.
This is the attitude that would make the world a better place! Tomorrow I’m going to look for ways to make those around me feel like Gene Kelly.
Thanks for “playing along!!! I bet you will find tons of ways you can make those small differences!
Quotes– beautiful quotes can stop me dead in my tracks. 🙂 I love them and even moderated a major quote collection site for years and years, so yay quotes! 🙂 I’m also a big believer in small acts of kindness. They add up!
I agree. And to moderate a quote collection? Do your talents ever end???? Good golly that would be awesome!!!!
I let a gentleman cut in front of my at the grocery store a few days ago. He set everything down and then realized he forgot something. So he rushed off. The employee moved his stuff (not me–there was a long line) and then rang up my stuff. The guy was mad when he got back, even though I was all packed up and already paying. It really made me laugh.
Oh that is funny. Why would he think you guys would wait when you were all done?? Silly man. But you did a nice thing!
I really don’t know. A couple of days later we let a family go ahead of us since they had two kids and one was close to a meltdown. Then the guy behind tried to cut in front of us. Um, no! I don’t mind being nice and I feel for parents, but rude people just need to behave. Some people.
Clodpates. They are everywhere.
Love the universal matching program. I participate as often as I can, and reap the benefits as well. Helping others feel good and less overwhelmed is such a good investment.
I love that Amazon does that and wonder why I am just now hearing about it!!! I jumped on the bandwagon!
That is an amazing quote. I also love quotes. I carry a journal around in my pocketbook and if I see a quote anywhere that I enjoy, I’ll write it down. Times are rough for so many. There are some days that get a bit cloudy in this area. I love doing something for other people. I appreciate when something simple is said to me or done for me. There’s so much darkness and doubt in the world, I like to think mankind should be kind to one another and in a huge way, we all are helping each other, even with small gestures. I have always liked this quote: “The smallest act of kindness is worth more than the greatest intention.” – Kahilil Gibrane
I love that quote, too!!! Thanks for sharing it with me. I think there is far more good in the world than bad and that if we stay positive and do those small little things we can turn the tide, what do you think? Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts!