Do unto others...

No matter what religion or philosophical belief you embrace...no one has yet to prove to me that goodness isn't returned with goodness. In fact quite the opposite has been my experience. The "Golden Rule" as it were Do unto others as you would have done to you, does not only benefit the one done to...but also the one doing.

Case in point:

Many, Many, Many years ago (tomorrow I will be 38 and I think this happened when I was 10ish)...My mother was driving home with us from the grocery store. There was a man standing as we were pulling out with a sign "Will work for food". My mother did something that day that left an ever lasting impression on both my mind and my heart. She turned our car around. She went back to the grocery store. She bought a bag full of groceries and she returned to the man. She told him that she didn't have anything to do at the house at the time, but she wanted him to have something to eat and appreciated his willingness to work for it. There was many a time my dad would bring migrant workers home to do yard work. My parents always paid them fairly and my mother always fed them like kings. They taught me what it means to serve. It is easy to serve the ones you love. You would do anything for them. It is much more difficult to serve those that look dirty, or jobless, or homeless. Maybe you think, "If only they got a job, they would have food." I love the lyrics of an old Mark Willis song...

Don't Laugh at me...

I'm a little boy with glasses
The one they call the geek
A little girl who never smiles
'Cause I've got braces on my teeth
And I know how it feels
To cry myself to sleep

I'm that kid on every playground
Who's always chosen last
A single teenage mother
Tryin' to overcome my past
You don't have to be my friend
But is it too much to ask

Don't laugh at me
Don't call me names
Don't get your pleasure from my pain
In God's eyes we're all the same
Someday we'll all have perfect wings
Don't laugh at me

I'm the cripple on the corner
You've passed me on the street
And I wouldn't be out here beggin'
If I had enough to eat
And don't think I don't notice
That our eyes never meet

I lost my wife and little boy when
Someone cross that yellow line
The day we laid them in the ground
Is the day I lost my mind
And right now I'm down to holdin'
This little cardboard sign...so

Don't laugh at me
Don't call me names
Don't get your pleasure from my pain
In God's eyes we're all the same
Someday we'll all have perfect wings
Don't laugh at me

I'm fat, I'm thin, I'm short, I'm tall
I'm deaf, I'm blind, hey, aren't we all

Don't laugh at me
Don't call me names
Don't get your pleasure from my pain
In God's eyes we're all the same
Someday we'll all have perfect wings
Don't laugh at me...

My parents raised us not to judge people by their religion, social status, color of their skin, country they were born in, or political affiliation. Every one has a story and the only one YOU or I KNOW...is our own story. We don't live in anyone's skin but our own so judgment should be reserved for high power except of course for the enforcement of laws and safety. I have a wide range of friends because I simply try to love people.

The other day I was running errands with the kids. Library and Vet day ;) I pulled off a major off ramp and was first at the red light. To my left was a young man, late teens or early twenties, with a sign. It simply read "God Bless". My first inclination was go get a job (I will admit, I am human.) I never carry cash but an overwhelming feeling rushed in my heart. At one time my uncle was homeless and for a short time when one of my brothers ran away from home he slept on the street. I thought of how I would have wanted the mother of five that pulled up to either of them to act. So I quickly ran the errand at hand that day, then we ran through Taco Bell. I got three things I would like and a cup of water. Made the loop and there he was...grateful, so grateful. My heart leaped with happiness. I can't describe the feeling, but if you have done a similar random act of kindness you know what I mean. If you haven't, try it, there is no greater feeling in the world. I hope that my parents legacy will live on in my children and their children. Do unto others...it blesses YOU too!

Make it a great day! Only YOU can!