I went to a wake yesterday. It was Good Friday. Later I read in the papers that Johan Cryuff, the revolutionary who changed how the world saw football, died.
We move through endless cycles of days and experiences with an understanding that ceratin thingts will occue. After will be followed by evening. Night will come and after it dawn and morning. Life will end in death.
Whether or not we can recall the names of the last few Olympic Gold, Academy Award or Nobel Prize winners - I'll bet you can remember the names of two favourite teachers, or friends who stood by you. We remember the ones who cared.
And we can become one of those people who are held in others' hearts and memories long after we have passed from this earth. Next to simple acts of kindness, all our personal achievements pale.
What we do for ourselves dies with us, but what we do for others echo throughout the ages.
No one is born with kindness. It is an acquired virtue. We learn to dance by dancing. We learn to play football by playing football. Kindness is acquired by practicing kindness.
Each day is filled with endless possibilities to make a difference. It is not that hard, for really, it is a world full of people desperately hungry for sincerity, goodness and honesty. Have you received an unexpected email or letter of thanks or compliment? It is a wonderful feeling to receive such an email. Yet for most people it is a rare joy. Write one. Write an email to an old friend whom you haven't written to in a while. It takes less than five minutes of your time to make someone's day.
As a child, my father used to tell me, "You get what you give." Life has taught me that, like so many things my father said to me, it is a wise and true statement.
We move through endless cycles of days and experiences with an understanding that ceratin thingts will occue. After will be followed by evening. Night will come and after it dawn and morning. Life will end in death.
Whether or not we can recall the names of the last few Olympic Gold, Academy Award or Nobel Prize winners - I'll bet you can remember the names of two favourite teachers, or friends who stood by you. We remember the ones who cared.
And we can become one of those people who are held in others' hearts and memories long after we have passed from this earth. Next to simple acts of kindness, all our personal achievements pale.
What we do for ourselves dies with us, but what we do for others echo throughout the ages.
No one is born with kindness. It is an acquired virtue. We learn to dance by dancing. We learn to play football by playing football. Kindness is acquired by practicing kindness.
Each day is filled with endless possibilities to make a difference. It is not that hard, for really, it is a world full of people desperately hungry for sincerity, goodness and honesty. Have you received an unexpected email or letter of thanks or compliment? It is a wonderful feeling to receive such an email. Yet for most people it is a rare joy. Write one. Write an email to an old friend whom you haven't written to in a while. It takes less than five minutes of your time to make someone's day.
As a child, my father used to tell me, "You get what you give." Life has taught me that, like so many things my father said to me, it is a wise and true statement.
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