One of my absolute favorite quotes is the one from John Wesley that starts out “ Do all the good you can…”. (See image) in fact, I used to have it taped to my computer at work so when I sat down it reminded me to keep that thought in the forefront.

Whenever I read that quote, it makes me reflect. My thinking often goes like this…

“Have I done all the good I can recently?

When was I too busy or distracted to notice that someone else needed a kind word, a door held open, or a pat on the back for a job well done?

When could I have participated in something that brought hope and happiness to someone else, even if it was just donating a bit of my time or some extra change?

When could I have partnered with others to bring hope and change to a bad situation?

When could I have made someone feel proud of the work they do?

When could I have offered a compliment?”

Well, you get the idea. Do I think this way every day? No, but I’d like to reflect on this more often – particularly during the holidays.

For example, last night I went to a great holiday show at a local performing arts center. I absolutely LOVED the show. The energy and the talent of the performers was outstanding! I smiled the whole show and went home feeling the world was a better place because of it. In the past, I would have left it at that. I possibly would tell a few friends how great the show was. If I was really enthused, I might have even posted it on social media. But this time I took the opportunity to do two things:

1. The performers were standing outside the doors of the theater when I exited last night. In the past I would just made a beeline for the exit in order to beat traffic exiting the parking lot. Instead, last night I got in the line and shook every performer’s hand and told them specifically how great the show was. I’m sure they had to have been exhausted, but their faces and their whole countenance just lit up. They had spread just a bit of joy and happiness to me and I was able to return it by doing that. Pretty darn cool, if you ask me!
2. Today I looked up the show on social media and posted (in the “mentions” category, what a wonderful show it was and I encouraged others to attend one of their shows in the future. In this way, other folks can know the show is worth going to and the performers also know I enjoyed it. A double kindness! 😉

I don’t write about these things to toot my own horn. Most certainly not. Instead, it is a good reminder to myself to stay vigilant and look for kindness opportunities whenever possible. It is my reminder to think outside the box and to PAY ATTENTION to opportunities to practice kindness. Because if I am paying attention, I just might be able to…

Do all the good I can,

By all the means I can,

In all the ways I can,

In all the places I can,

At all the times I can,

To all the people I can,

As long as ever I can.

May it be increasingly so…