After the Hurricane, Random Acts of Kindness

I sure hope that everyone is recovering from our angry weekend visitor, .

She caused a commotion at supermarkets and gas station lines; she sold out bottled water and flash lights, batteries and everything else one would need for the duration; by Friday evening, the local supermarket was a place of high anxiety and negative energy, with people pushing, shoving and ramming each other with overflowing shopping carts. The parking lots were even more frustrating, with people flipping each other the bird at the loss of a parking spot.

But these are second-hand accounts from friends and neighbors, as I always prepare as much as I can and as far in advance as I can. It's not my intention to focus on all that negativity, but it had to be mentioned because it's all around us. It exists to allow us to experience a balance—goodness and grace.

This weekend, my daughter-in-law, Sarah, lost her wallet complete with her I.D and cashed pay check. She and my son were frantic, but I just knew it would be returned. "People are good," I told them both.

It was returned intact a few hours later. People are good!

On Facebook Monday, there were postings from friends. With so many people still with out electric and water, one friend, Tracey, noted that anyone needing a warm meal and or shower should contact her. Another friend, Eileen, rushed to the aid of a young family that recently lost the mother. The family, without power since Saturday evening, lives miles from Eileen (who by the way has been out of work for a while). It didn’t stop her from taking what food and supplies she had to the family that needed help .

There are so many great stories of people helping people at times like this. But the gals I mentioned from Facebook do these sort of things all the time, not just in trying times, as do many of my friends. It fills a heart with such tenderness, and I truly believe these acts are contagious. We always read about random acts of kindness, and hopefully practice them as well. It should be our second nature. Do a good deed ‘at least three times a days’ as my friend Cookie says, and I agree. My friend Joann leaves an icy cold bottle of water in her mail box for the postal person on a hot summers day! Something so trivial could make all the difference in someone’s day.

A smile, a 'thank you' or holding a door open for someone is pushing positive energy out to Universe; and the more positive energy we put out there, the more will return. Did you know performing one act of kindness can actually lower your blood pressure and release endorphins, the feel-good chemical in your brain?

Let's begin a cosmic chain of cheerful thoughts and deeds to help each other instead of flipping the bird and ramming a shopping cart into another person. This past week we have seen how quickly disaster can strike—, —so please people be prepared, in general. Have extra batteries and flash lights on hand; maybe a few gallons of water packed away in your pantry; a tote with medications, important documents and a first aid kit. You know what you would need in case you were forced from your home for a few days. That advice isn’t being pessimistic—it's being smart.

Until next time, remember: magic happens!