The Personal Touch

Jamie Randall shared this thought with internet readers recently:

            “Sometimes the things you want the most don’t happen and

what you least expect happens. I don’t know - you meet

thousands of people and none of them really touch you. And

then you meet one person and your life is changed forever.”

That is the good news. The wonder is that so much good news fills the world. We witness it daily. Even when we are down in the dumps we see good things being done by others and that lifts us up. We meet many people of different characteristics and backgrounds; each plays a role in our lives, most often unnoticed. But they are there.

Look for the good and you will see it. Expect the good and work to make it happen; mostly the expected will happen. Yes we are disappointed lots of time. That’s life. The trick is to jump up and try again. It really helps to expect the good to appear. It makes us more sensitive to the good we normally miss seeing. It’s been there all along.

On the opposite side of good, we have the haters among us. I found an interesting thought on the internet the other day and think it belongs here in this message today:

“Haters don’t really hate you. They really hate themselves because you are a reflection of what they wish to be.”`-Author Unknown

African-Americans know all about this. So do gay people. Discrimination involves ignorance, fear and hate.  All wrapped up in one not-so-neat package. I think it goes back to people afraid they don’t measure up with others. They need to feel superior to others.  I will give witness to this phenomenon: being the object of discrimination teaches valuable lessons. I have learned to appreciate the simple and basic things in life. Those are the valuable aspects of being, feeling, and enjoying life that we take for granted and rarely really ‘see’.  Furthermore, I can’t do anything a out the other person. They are what they are!

From www.unbelievablefacts.tumblr.com comes this item:

“Self-made millionaire Harris Rosen adopted a Florida neighborhood called Tangelo Park, cut the crime rate in half, and increased the high school graduation rate from 25% to 100% by giving everyone free daycare and all high school graduates scholarships.”

Now there’s a special person, one who leaves behind his comfort zone to make as difference in the lives of others. In this case he chose a group of people who have historically suffered. And he has made an enormous difference. He has touched many lives. But I bet his life has been touched by each and every one of those he has helped. That’s how it works. He constantly meets people who change his life. But he is also a person changing the lives he touches. And he still has millions of dollars on his balance sheet!

For those who struggle with these issues – doing good or not; responding to the bad in life; etc. – there is a bit of good advice provided by www.Daveswordsofwisdom.com:

“The best advice I can give is to just keep moving forward and don’t give a damn what other people think. Just do what you have to do for you.”

A good suggestion. Not always easy to live by. But it is important that we try. We have been taught to respect what others think. But there is a difference I think: respect what people do and what they are. What they think of you doesn't measure up to those two elements of life.

November 20, 2013