Be Garlic

Although an odd Comparison-

Kindness and positivity are like garlic; little is needed to make a bold statement, and a little goes a long way. Kindness and positivity are the zest of life, and without it in the world there seems to be something missing, a certain lack in flavor, so to speak.

Garlic is also good for your heath! It’s been a folkloric wonder drug for centuries remedying anything from the common flu to lowering high blood pressure.  It is also proven that a positive attitude creates a happier outlook in life, therefore relieving stress and making an individual healthier. Be Garlic.

The next time you are not sure whether you should be kind, or do something positive, (wondering is it worth the effort? Does it make any difference at all?) just remember that your kind actions and behavior are like garlic, and they will go a long way. You may not necessarily hear about how it impacted someone or something each time, because a lot of kind actions are not necessarily absorbed by the conscious mind. Much of the time kind actions, words and gestures are absorbed by the subconscious mind, and there the seed lies until its spring appears and that thought turns into a seedling of some sort of greatness when the time is right.  Sometimes our kind actions lie dormant, or so they appear, but this does not mean that our actions are irrelevant.

A few years ago, I had received a mysterious email from someone claiming that they had gone to grade school with me in Germany, and that they had been searching for me for many years. As it was so many years ago, fourth grade to be exact, I did not remember the person and thought that maybe a friend of mine was pulling my leg. The person went on to tell me that they had been searching for me to thank me for the kindness I had bestowed on them so many years ago.

He said that in grade school, he had a particularly hard time fitting in, was made fun of and shunned. He was born a hermaphrodite, of both male and female parts. His mother decided at the time to raise him as a girl. He said that he never felt like he was a girl, and worst of all that he never fit in socially with his big secret.

He told me that I had always been kind to him at school not matter what the other children were doing or saying. On a particular field trip we went on, he said that he recalled me sharing my spending money with him so that he could get an ice cream and sharing a seat with him on the bus. My wonderful family always made sure that I had spending money on a field trip to get myself a treat. To my horror on this day, I learned that this kid had no spending money, so of course I shared it. What a horror to not have any spending money on field trip day!

Fast forward to about twenty years later and the email I was reading, I went home and pulled out my class photo and sure enough, I remembered that kid.  I had a grand realization that day- Kindness is never wasted! Even if you don’t recall being the kind one! It was a brilliant lesson for me, about how small acts of kindness, no matter how insignificant you think they are- they may have made a huge impact on someone else! It’s also a reminder that you never know what someone else may be going through.  This one in particular is probably above the average, that someone remembers and goes through the trouble for twenty years to say thank you- but you never know!

 Continue to be kind no matter how irrelevant or underappreciated you think it is.  No act of kindness ever goes wasted. It may be more appreciated than you will ever know.

Hope everyone has a Happy Monday filled with great things!