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Respect and kindness
Being rude doesn't feel very good even while you're doing it. Being genuinely considerate, on the other hand, can leave you feeling more positive and empowered for a long time afterward. Rudeness and arrogance are unmistakable signs of weakness and insecurity. Kindness and polite consideration are reliable indicators of rock-solid confidence and strength. How do you treat those whom you have no reason to impress, from whom you have nothing to gain? It says a lot about you, and people do indeed notice.
Those who are truly in a position of responsibility have no need for arrogance. Any positive impression you seek to make through arrogance or rudeness is immediately contradicted by the arrogance itself.
Don't let your own arrogance waste your energy and set you back. Use each encounter as an opportunity to offer genuine respect and kindness.
Lift up the lives of those around you. And you lift up your whole world.
Ralph Marston
Click here: Mysterious Gambler Gives Winnings to the Poor Above link takes you away from my site. Please use your backspace button to return.
The Sack Lunches I put my carry-on in the luggage compartment and sat down in my assigned seat. It was going to be a long flight. 'I'm glad I have a good book to read. Perhaps I will get a short nap,' I thought. Just before take-off, a line of soldiers came down the aisle and filled all the vacant seats, totally 'Where are you headed?' I asked the soldier seated nearest to me. After flying for about an hour, an announcement was made that sack lunches were available for five As I reached for my wallet, I overheard a soldier ask his buddy if he planned to buy lunch. 'No, that seems like a lot of money for just a sack lunch. Probably wouldn't be worth five bucks. I'll wait till we get to base.' His friend agreed. I looked around at the other soldiers. None were buying lunch I walked to the back of the plane and handed the flight attendant a fifty dollar bill. 'Take a lunch to all those soldiers.' She grabbed my arms and squeezed tightly. Her eyes wet with tears, she thanked me. 'My son was a soldier in Iraq; it's almost like you are doing it for him.' Picking up ten sacks, she headed up the aisle to where the soldiers were seated. She stopped at my seat and asked, 'Which do you like best - beef or chicken?' 'Chicken,' I replied, wondering why she asked. She turned and went to the front of plane, returning a minute later with a dinner plate from first class. 'This is your thanks...' After we finished eating, I went again to the back of the plane, heading for the rest room. A man stopped me. 'I saw what you did. I want to be part of it. Here, take this.' He handed me twenty-five dollars. Soon after I returned to my seat, I saw the Flight Captain coming down the aisle, looking at the aisle numbers as he walked, I hoped he was not looking for me, but noticed he was looking at the numbers only on my side of the plane. When he got to my row he stopped, smiled, held out his hand and said, 'I want to shake your hand.' Q uickly unfastening my seatbelt I stood and took the Captain's hand. With a booming voice he said, 'I was a soldier and I was a military pilot. Once, someone bought me a lunch. It was an act of kindness I never forgot.' I was embarrassed when applause was heard from all of the passengers. Later I walked to the front of the plane so I could stretch my legs. A man who was seated about six rows in front of me reached out his hand, wanting to shake mine. He left another twenty-five dollars in my palm. When we landed I gathered my belongings and started to deplane. Waiting just inside the airplane door was a man who stopped me, put something in my shirt pocket, turned, and walked away without saying a word. Another twenty-five dollars! Upon entering the terminal, I saw the soldiers gathering for their trip to the base. I walked over to them and handed them seventy-five dollars. 'It will take you some time to reach the base. It will be about time for a sandwich . God Bless You.' Ten young men left that flight feeling the love and respect of their fellow travelers. As I walked briskly to my car, I whispered a prayer for their safe return. These soldiers were giving their all for our country. I could only give them a couple of meals. It seemed so little... A veteran is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to 'The United States of America ' for an amount of 'up to and including my life.' Unknown Author
Just Stay A nurse took the tired, anxious serviceman to the bedside. "Your son is here," she said to the old man. She had to repeat the words several times before the patient's eyes opened. Heavily sedated because of the pain of his heart attack, he dimly saw the young uniformed Marine standing outside the oxygen tent. He reached out his hand. The Marine wrapped his toughened fingers around the old man's limp ones, squeezing a message of love and encouragement. The nurse brought a chair so that the Marine could sit beside the bed.All through the night the young Marine sat there in the poorly lightedward, holding the old man's hand and offering him words of love and strength. Occasionally, the nurse suggested that the Marine move away and rest awhile. He refused. Whenever the nurse came into the ward, the Marine was oblivious of her and of the night noises of the hospital - the clanking of the oxygen tank, the laughter of the night staff members exchanging greetings, the cries and moans of the other patients. Now and then she heard him say a few gentle words. The dying man said nothing, only held tightly to his son all through the night. Along towards dawn, the old man died. The Marine released the now lifeless hand he had been holding and went to tell the nurse. While she did what she had to do, he waited. Finally, she returned. She started to offer words of sympathy, but the Marine interrupted her. "Who was that man?" he asked. The nurse was startled, "He was your father," she answered. "No, he wasn't," the Marine replied. "I never saw him before in my life." "Then why didn't you say something when I took you to him?" "I knew right away there had been a mistake, but I also knew he needed his son, and his son just wasn't here. When I realized that he was too sick to tell whether or not I was his son, knowing how much he needed me, I stayed." I came here tonight to find a Mr. William Grey. His Son was Killed in Iraq today, and I was sent to inform him. What was this Gentleman's Name? The Nurse with Tears in Her Eyes Answered, Mr. William Grey............. The next time someone needs you ... just be there. Stay. Author Unknown
A good character is the best tombstone. Those who loved you and were helped by you will remember you when forget-me-nots have withered. Carve your name on hearts, not on marble. Charles H. Spurgeon
A CONSPIRACY OF KINDNESS Kevin is a boy who might be described as "slow." He didn't learn his
ABCs as fast as other kids. He couldn't compete in schoolyard races. But Kevin had a way with people. His bright smile and big heart won him plenty of friends. My friend Randy, the pastor at Kevin's church, decided they needed a
basketball team for boys. Kevin signed on and soon basketball became a center of his life. He practiced hard. While the other boys worked at dribbling the basketball and shooting lay-ups, skills Kevin would never master, he simply shot baskets. Or more correctly, he threw the ball AT the basket. He had a special spot near the free throw line. He threw and threw, and it occasionally went in. On the rare times that he succeeded, Kevin raised his arms and shouted, "Look at me, Coach! Look at me!" Randy looked at him. And smiled. The day before their first game, Coach Randy gave each player a
bright red jersey. Kevin was number 12. He scrambled himself into the sleeves and wore that jersey almost every day. Everywhere. One Sunday morning the church worship service was interrupted by Kevin's excited voice. "Look, Coach!" He lifted his gray wool sweater to reveal the red jersey underneath with number 12 on the front. Nobody there minded the interruption; the congregation knew Kevin and loved him. I'd like to be able to tell you that the team did well. But the
truth is.they never won a game that season -- except for the night it snowed and the opposing team never showed up. At the end of the season, the boys played in the church league's
tournament. As the last-place team, they drew the unfortunate spot of playing against the best team -- boys who had never lost a game all year. Game day arrived. Both teams played their best, but the game went as
expected. Near the end of the last quarter, Kevin's team stood nearly 30 points behind. It was then that one of the boys called timeout. "Coach Randy," he said, "this is our last game and Kevin has never made a basket. I think we should let him make a basket." The team agreed. Kevin was instructed to stand at his special place
near the free throw line and wait. He was told that when he was given the ball, he should shoot. Kevin was ecstatic. He ran to the floor and waited. When the ball
was passed to him he shot -- and missed. Number 17 from the other team snatched the rebound, dribbled down the court for an easy basket. But a moment later Kevin got the ball again. He shot -- and missed again. Number 17 repeated his performance scoring two more points. Kevin shot a third and fourth time with the same result. But slowly the other team seemed to figure out what was going on and
the next time they snatched the rebound, a boy threw it to Kevin! He shot...and missed. Now every rebound came to him and he threw and threw toward the basket. Time was running down and Kevin still had not scored. BOTH teams circled the boy by this time and all of the players were
shouting, "Kevin! Kevin!" The crowd took up the chant. Soon everyone in the gym was shouting Kevin's name. Coach Randy was sure that time must have run out; the game HAD to be
over. He glanced at the official clock. It was stopped at 4.3 seconds. Even the timekeepers joined in the mania and stood by their table shouting with the crowd, "Kevin! Kevin!" Kevin shot and shot. Everyone was screaming. He attempted again and
again and again and...miraculously, one of his shots took a crazy bounce on the rim. Everyone held their breath. The ball dropped in.
Chaos reigned. Nobody remained seated. Everyone stood and cheered as
if one boy had single-handedly won a world championship. Kevin's arms sprang up in the air and he shouted, "I won! I won!" He had scored. His team escorted him off the court, the clock ticked down and the game was over. That day an undefeated team retained their perfect record. But
everybody won. Everybody. Because everybody had participated in a crazy conspiracy of kindness that was so compelling, so powerful, the earth itself might have stopped for a moment to rejoice with one young boy. How beautiful it is when we all conspire together in kindness.
Everybody wins. Steve Goodier
  The best practical advice I can give to the present generation is to practice the virtue which the Christians call love. ~Bertrand Russell
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Treat everyone with politeness, even those who are rude to you - not because they are nice, but because you are. Author Unknown
A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. Author Unknown
How far that little candle throws his beams!
ROBIN RED BREAST Many times she tried to return the bird to the wild, but it was devoted to the young boy and girl who had saved it. The woman relented to their pleadings to allow the bird to accompany the three on a long car-trailer trip, planning to get rid of the bird when they returned home. But the bird’s heroism changed all that. One night while Anne and her two children were asleep in the bunks of their trailer, the bird suddenly began shrieking. He landed by Anne’s ear, shrilled, then flew furiously to the front of the trailer. When Anne got up, she realized what had alarmed the bird: A large idling tractor-trailer rig had pulled up next to their trailer so that rig’s vertical exhaust pipe was spewing its fumes into an open window–and it was asphyxiating them! The driver was nowhere to be found. She closed the window, aired out her trailer and, with the robin’s help, aroused her children from their potentially deadly sleep. The next day the family drove along a country road with the bird singing along with the radio, something he loved to do. Suddenly he became perturbed and flew madly around the inside of the car. Anne stopped the car. The robin flew out the car window, around the trailer, and back. The woman started to scold the bird–who chirped sadly at this undeserved punishment–but just then her children called, “Mother, come quick.” She found that the trailer hitch had broken; had they continued driving down the road it would have meant disaster. While waiting for repairs, the local mechanic was amazed by the robin’s playfulness, devotion to his humans, and heroic deeds. The mechanic offered to buy the bird. “Not for all the money in the world,” Anne replied. Author Unknown
As the bus slowed down at the crowded bus stop, the Pakistani bus conductor leaned from the platform and called out, "Six only!" The bus stopped. He counted on six passengers, rang the bell, and then, as the bus moved off, called to those left behind: "So sorry, plenty of room in my heart - but the bus is full." He left behind a row of smiling faces. It's not what you do, it's the way that you do it. The Friendship Book of Francis Gay, 1977
Never miss an opportunity to make others happy, even if you have to leave them alone in order to do it. Author Unknown
Not by harming life
does one become noble.
One is termed noble
for being gentle to
all living things.
Unknown
You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late. Ralph Waldo Emerson
Guard well within yourself that treasure, kindness. Know how to give without hesitation, how to lose without regret, how to acquire without meanness.
My feeling is that there is
nothing in life but refraining
from hurting others, and
comforting those who are sad.
Olive Schreiner
Kindness There have been times when the kindness of another person has changed your life for the better. And it's easy to see that kindness has the power to reach far beyond itself.
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