Good People Doing Good Things — You, Me, All Of Us!

Posted on by under Bits 'n Pieces, Good people doing good things, Personal, Social commentary

Today’s good people post is not about a man saving 50 people from a burning building, nor about a dog rescuing a family in the Himalayas, nor about a woman stopping a runaway car with her own car.  How often do any of us find ourselves in those situations and with the wherewithal to be a hero?  When’s the last time you were walking and came across a burning building?  Note that I am not putting those acts of heroism down … no, not at all!  But I’m just saying that most of us will never, or at best once in our lifetimes, have the opportunity to be that sort of a hero.  But … unless you’re a hermit like me … you interact with people on a daily basis, whether it’s a store clerk, librarian, a coworker, someone you pass while out walking the dog, or just the postman delivering a package.  And every interaction is an opportunity … an opportunity to maybe brighten someone’s day and to practice your ‘good people’ skills.

Last year, Axios did a three-part series in their Finish Line newsletter about the little things people do to help someone or brighten somebody’s day, and I thought it would be fun to hear what the recipients of those little acts of kindness thought.  We tend to undervalue those simple little acts of kindness when we do them, but as you’re about to see, they are much more highly valued by those on the receiving end.

This first one really moved me …

  • “Some 30 years ago, I was working on recovery from a horrible depression. It was harder than anything I’ve ever done. One morning, it took everything I had to make a grocery run. As I dragged myself toward the store, a man looked at me and smiled, saying, ‘Good morning.’ I felt so much weight lifted off me. I could, for the first time in months, see a way out of my sadness.” —Sherri W., McKinney, Texas

A simple “Good morning” and a smile made so much difference!  And how much effort did that take?  That’s why on my Jolly Monday posts I’m always reminding you to share those smiles … you just never know what someone else is going through and how much your smile might mean to them.

Here are some of the other comments from recipients of small but important acts of kindness …

  • “The first time I was traveling alone with my daughter — who was 11 months old at the time — a stranger on a plane offered to hold her after we landed so I was able to gather our things and have a moment to breathe. It meant the most to a young mom with her hands full.” —Abby D., Des Moines, Iowa
  • “A fellow lawyer, a total stranger, put money in a parking meter for me when he realized that I would get stuck in court beyond the time I had left.” —Avraham M., West Hempstead, New York
  • “Just the other day I was trying to navigate a stroller through a coffee shop … not a glamorous task. When I went to leave, a man came darting from across the entire coffee shop to open the door for me. … It truly set the tone for my entire day.” —Lily M., Atlanta, Georgia
  • “My wife and I, both in our 70s, were loading heavy bags of rock for a landscaping project into our car.  A woman approached and loaded the rest. As she finished and turned away, I shouted, ‘You have restored my faith in humanity.’  She responded, ‘We all need that.'” —Roger R., Ballwin, Missouri
  • “I left my backpack, complete with my work laptop and files, on the busy NYC subway one evening. I was certain it was lost forever. I made a claim, panicked, and worried and worried again. … Then came an email and a text: ‘I have your red backpack.’ This amazing and kind medical student brought my backpack to me.” —Jane C., NYC
  • “Several years ago I was struggling to lace up my very large and cumbersome — but totally awesome — dress in the Maryland Renaissance Faire parking lot. The girl getting dressed at the car next to mine offered to help me do up my laces.” —Caroline M., Walnut Creek, California
  • “My first day working in a new city, I exited my office building and couldn’t remember how to find the train station. A stranger walked by, noticed I looked lost, and doubled back to see if I needed directions. I fell in love with Chicago that day.” —Spencer W., Chicago, Illinois
  • “When I got to the checkout, my 3-year-old ran away and my newborn started crying inconsolably. The lady behind me took over packing my shopping so I could find my son and calm my newborn. That act has always stuck with me because I had been feeling so overwhelmed and that helping hand made all the difference.” —Katherine N., Oxford, U.K.

See how easy it is to be a ‘good people’?  Let’s all dig up those smiles and kind words this week, hold the door open for someone, smile and say, “Hey, how ya doin’ today?”, and see if you can brighten someone’s day.  You never know … OH!!!  And just in time, here’s Jolly and Joyful with that basketful of smiles!  Take a few and share them, won’t you?

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31 thoughts on “Good People Doing Good Things — You, Me, All Of Us!”

    • I am the same … there’s just no reason to be rude, as I’ve seen some customers do. A smile and a friendly word cost us nothing.

      Thank you so much for sharing that link … WOW … hard to believe she’s graduating already … seems like only yesterday she was a kid with pigtails and more sense than most adults! Happy Friday … well, Saturday now … to you as well, dear friend! ❤

      Liked by 1 person

      • You are very welcome. When I saw her post I directly thought of you. Its going to be interesting to see what she is going to do. I need to ask our library if they could get her book. Happy Saturday despite everything 🤗

        Liked by 1 person

  2. Thank you for sharing!!.. one does not have to be a millionaire, leader, etc. to do good, all one has to do is follow ones open heart, just like you always do… “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” (Maya Angelou )…. 🙂

    “For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness,
    and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone.” (Audrey Hepburn), hope all is well in your world and until we meet again…. 🙂
    May the dreams you hold dearest
    Be those which come true
    May the kindness you spread
    Keep returning to you
    (Irish Saying)

    Liked by 1 person

    • Thanks, Dutch!!! I have always loved that quote from Maya Angelou! And yes, it’s so simple really … just a smile and a kind word, or helping someone get something off of a high shelf, or put their groceries in their car. We can all be ‘good people’. And I also love the Hepburn quote … I hadn’t heard that one before! Thank you for the lovely Irish Saying!!!

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      • “The life I touch for good or ill will touch another life, and that in turn another, until who knows where the trembling stops or in what far place my touch will be felt.” ( Frederick Buechner )… 🙂

        There are good ships and there a wood ships
        The ships that sail the sea,
        But the best ships are friendships
        And may they always be!
        (Irish Saying)

        Liked by 1 person

  6. Perhaps I look “creepy” to some people, but having been punched in the face on several occasions by a stranger for offering an unsolicited “Good morning”, or something similar, when I was in my teens and twenties, I will only respond to a greeting these days, never offer one unsolicited. Never.

    And many years ago I came to the aid of a very distressed and unaccompanied young child in a department store when everyone passing simply ignored her. I had knelt down beside her so as not to frighten her any more than she already was when I received an almighty kick to the “family Jewels” by a woman who came up behind me but had no relationship with the child at all. Why? Apparently because I was a male and the child was a girl, therefore I must have had evil intent. Let’s just say that my autistic traits, especially when under stress, didn’t help the situation at all. It’s very lucky that all I received was that kick.

    Having had my intent misconstrued many times in situations similar to those described above (perhaps because don’t display “appropriate” body language or vocal intonation?), when I come across a situation I find distressing, I look for someone else to offer the assistance rather than assisting personally. As a consequence I’ve been told I’m uncaring and heartless because I don’t offer any assistance personally. A case of being damned if I do and damned if I don’t, I guess.

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    • I can say to this that the action and intent of the doer can be right and just but intent is a perspective to all men.
      So long as you keep doing it regardless out of your good nature. Be damned so long as you do I guess…😂

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    • I’ve talked to people from the African continent who have had a terrible time adjusting here, because there they take it seriously that the whole village raises the child, and here they profile you as pedo if you try even to help. I’ve had people frown at me simply for complementing their good parenting and happy beautiful familiea. Go figure, right?

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      • Certainly in my youth, the perspective of “it takes a village to raise a child” was still very much apparent in the smaller communities in which I grew up, possibly not so true in the cities. Now it seems that very few people hold that view.

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    • You were punched in the face for simply saying “Good Morning”? Multiple times??? What the heck … ??? I thought New Zealanders were nicer, more polite, than we here in the U.S., but now I wonder! And that is such a sad story that you were assaulted because you were trying to help a child. It’s rather like that expression here, “Shoot first and ask questions later”. I’m so sorry that happened, but I can certainly see how all that has made you leery of making the first move in an act of kindness. And isn’t that a damn shame.

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      • It seems that there is something about my demeanour that invokes negative first impressions. And on occasions in the hours before a migraine becomes apparent, I can have episodes of aphasia where the words I want to say and the words I actually say are different, and I will be unaware of it. Those close to me will pick up the aphasia an hour or more before I can recognise the onset of the actual migraine myself. But those who don’t know me are likely to consider whatever I say is deliberate. I can have up to 20 migraine attacks per month so that compounds the situation.

        It’s possible that the punches might have been triggered because I said something they thought was “inappropriate”, but that was definitely not the case when I was kicked at the department store.

        People are largely the same all over the world when it comes to violence. We are marginally better than the US, but NO GUNS. In fact it’s illegal to carry any object in public that can be used as a weapon without just cause. Carrying for self defence is never a just cause. So if you’re carrying a pocket knife, screwdriver, baseball bat, kitchen knife, or hammer, or have them beside you in your car, you may need to justify why you are carrying.

        If I must come face to face with someone with violent tendencies, I’d prefer the NZ situation where in all probability they’d be unarmed. And that includes the police.

        Liked by 1 person

        • I like to think I would never respond with violence … but we never know for sure until we are faced with a situation, do we? I would certainly like to think I wouldn’t punch someone just for saying something or kick him in the family jewels … but I just can’t say for sure, depending on circumstances.

          Yes, you guys have far better sense in the guns/weapons area … most every country on the globe has better sense than the U.S.!

          Liked by 1 person

          • Your reply has bothered me for several days and I think because you may have understood “people” a little differently to how I intended. By “people”, I didn’t mean “everybody” or “everyone”. Perhaps “peoples” would have been better. I intended to say that within any large random group of people, no matter where on Earth they are located, you will find a similar range of personalities: kind and generous, suspicious and selfish and every other personality trait – in similar proportions. Having said that, I think the relative values/merits placed on the various traits differ from culture to culture.

            I’m a pacifist and for both ethical and religious reasons oppose all forms of violence, and that includes forms that are non-physical. As a Quaker, I believe in the necessity of acting to “remove the occasions for war (or violence)”, and while I would like to think that there is no occasion where I might do otherwise, who knows what anyone (including me) might do in dire circumstances.

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            • I am so sorry that my reply has been weighing on your mind, my friend. You are right that in one sense, people or peoples are pretty much the same wherever you go, there is the same mix of personality traits. I still think, though, that the ratio varies from one culture to the next, based on a number of factors, such as economic conditions, education, societal norms within the culture, etc. In the case of the U.S. today, our education system has been on the decline for some twenty years, a generation, and we are beginning to see the effects. Plus, we have such a huge wealth/income disparity that while one man counts his billions at bedtime, another man lives in a cardboard box on the streets. All of these things and more combine to lead to major frustrations, to anger, and ultimately it is just one step further to violence. And with almost no gun restrictions … well, you know the rest.

              I do not believe that violence is, or ever will be, the way to solve our problems. But we seem to be at a point where civil discourse is not working for us, so I don’t know what comes next. Again, it was never my intent to cause you to be bothered by my reply … sometimes perhaps I don’t express myself as well as I might.

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