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Today's
Meditation:
It seems counter-intuitive, how our societies
constantly focus on "return" for our investments
of money, time, work, or even play. We're taught
that whatever we do, we should get something out of it, be
it money, better fitness, stronger relationships with
business partners, or the like. But what about the
things that we do that give us no return at all, except
perhaps a sense of satisfaction, or even the knowledge
that we've done something good for someone else?
I'm not sure that I agree completely with Ruth. I
can spend "perfect" days alone, even, when I
don't have opportunities to do things for others.
But for the most part, she makes sense. The
things that we can do for others are innumerable, and they
don't have to be world- or life-changing things at
all. Perhaps letting a car in during heavy traffic,
or letting someone who's obviously in a hurry pass me in
the supermarket checkout line, or giving directions to
someone who seems lost.
We don't do such things to make our own days better.
If that's our motivation, then it's flawed. We do
such things because we see a need and we try to fulfill
it--simply because that's what human beings do for each
other. We're all in this thing called life together,
and just as we try to help a teammate so that the whole
team's experience is more positive, we need to help each
other to brighten this world. We can brighten the
world one tiny flame at a time--they don't have to be
bonfires.
Make your day perfect. Do some kindness for someone
else, and don't let them know you've done it. Do
some kindness for someone who doesn't have the resources
to pay you back (but don't hold it over their
heads!). As long as we focus on doing good for
others, good will come back to us, and for us, and our
days will be wonderfully perfect.
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