Kindness Ripples
By Marcia Conley
If we were to sit and share a cup of coffee together I am sure we would discover that we KNOW what Kindness is. We could come up with examples of random unexpected things that have happened to us that caused us to smile and that brightened our day.
If you are a member or guest of SedonaKind you have found a wonderful organization that focuses on finding unmet needs of our community and meeting them with creative means. I am honored to be a part of it!
I was a wound care nurse in a trauma center and was blessed with being able to meet people at their must vulnerable moments. Intense pain, fear and uncertainty created an environment where even the smallest of gestures made a huge impact. After retiring from that dramatic and chaotic environment I found that I needed a reminder that kindness is needed in the everyday lives of everyday people. It’s been my experience that we all like to be “seen”, appreciated and validated and that even the most seemingly inconsequential acts have incredible results.
When I toss a cold stone into a calm body of water concentric ripples are formed, grow, and spread out. I often lose sight of where they end, and who or what they touch. Let’s think of each act of kindness as generating the same ripple effect. I guarantee that we will never know the full of extent of our words or deeds.
Once while I was grocery shopping a woman unexpectedly came up from behind me and caught me in a strong bear hug. To say I was surprised is an understatement. I thoroughly expected to see a dear friend but when I turned around I did not recognize this woman at all!!!! Here she was saying all these wonderful things about me and thanking me and I was unable to fully appreciate it as my mind was saying, “I have NEVER seen this woman before in my life!” Come to find out her best friend had been a patient of mine. My act of kindness? I had painted her friend a ROCK with a healing message on it and that rock became a prized treasure!!
Send the ripples out!!! You will never know the distance it will travel.
If you are a member or guest of SedonaKind you have found a wonderful organization that focuses on finding unmet needs of our community and meeting them with creative means. I am honored to be a part of it!
I was a wound care nurse in a trauma center and was blessed with being able to meet people at their must vulnerable moments. Intense pain, fear and uncertainty created an environment where even the smallest of gestures made a huge impact. After retiring from that dramatic and chaotic environment I found that I needed a reminder that kindness is needed in the everyday lives of everyday people. It’s been my experience that we all like to be “seen”, appreciated and validated and that even the most seemingly inconsequential acts have incredible results.
When I toss a cold stone into a calm body of water concentric ripples are formed, grow, and spread out. I often lose sight of where they end, and who or what they touch. Let’s think of each act of kindness as generating the same ripple effect. I guarantee that we will never know the full of extent of our words or deeds.
Once while I was grocery shopping a woman unexpectedly came up from behind me and caught me in a strong bear hug. To say I was surprised is an understatement. I thoroughly expected to see a dear friend but when I turned around I did not recognize this woman at all!!!! Here she was saying all these wonderful things about me and thanking me and I was unable to fully appreciate it as my mind was saying, “I have NEVER seen this woman before in my life!” Come to find out her best friend had been a patient of mine. My act of kindness? I had painted her friend a ROCK with a healing message on it and that rock became a prized treasure!!
Send the ripples out!!! You will never know the distance it will travel.