Thankful

By Beth Carpenter


It’s Thanksgiving, the day set aside to remind us to take time to be thankful for all the good in our lives.


It’s hard, sometimes, to sort through the noise and remember to be grateful for what we have. Advertisers, news media and political parties have learned it’s in their best interest if we’re unhappy. We’re genetically programmed to notice danger, and so the best way to get our attention is to point out what’s wrong, what’s missing, what isn’t perfect. But it’s important that we also pay attention to what’s right, the good things we have, and the many acts of kindness surrounding us each day.



Sometimes they’re little acts, like someone holding a door, reaching something on a high shelf, or offering to let the mom with the fussy toddler check out first. Sometimes they’re huge, like giving a college scholarship or a car. But kindness is something we can all practice and every act of kindness makes a difference.

In Milwaukee, when an officer stopped a woman and was told she couldn’t afford car seats for her girls, he bought them for her.  

In San Antonio, a little girl whose dog died wrote a letter to God, and a postal worker sent a book and a response to reassure her. 

A sanitation worker in Independence, Missouri helped an women who suffered from dementia when she fell, and developed an ongoing relationship with her. 

A woman in Mesa, Arizona accidentally invited someone else’s grandson to Thanksgiving, and now he's always invited. 

I’ve been the beneficiary of so many acts of kindness. From the people who helped change tires or jump batteries, to writers and readers who gave advice and encouragement, to neighbors who roll out the trash and collect flyers when we’re out of town, to the nurse who reassured me before surgery—I’ve been surrounded by kind people, and I’m thankful.

Do you have a story of an act of kindness you’d like to share?

I'm thankful for Heartwarming readers and authors. You're one of the really good things in my life, and I'm so glad you're here. 

Happy Thanksgiving!



Comments

  1. Not a single act, but the amount of giving done in this season to people in need (or even want) whom the giver doesn't even know is enough to give hope. Doing it out of the blue, without a season as a reminder, is even better. Happy Thanksgiving, Beth.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It does give us hope. Happy Thanksgiving to you, too, Liz.

      Delete
  2. Happy Thanksgiving Beth and all who read this inspiring post today! I love to read stories of random kindnesses in the news - our neighbours (a young couple with 2 young children) raked up all our leaves last week, just because! We need these stories don’t we, affirming our better sides when too often we’re confronted with the negatives. And like Beth, I’m so appreciative of our Heartwarming author group.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sounds like you have great neighbors! Happy Thanksgiving.

      Delete
  3. Happy Thanksgiving. I see so many acts of kindness every day. Some are simple, like keeping a person from some hazard lying on the floor to the good samaritans we hear about making huge efforts. Seeing family and being kind to them is much more important. These are the people we tend to forget that kindness should also extend to them. So be kind to your siblings, parents, cousins, aunts, uncles, etc. Be especially kind to the ones that irritate you. Make a friend, not an enemy.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love reading about random acts of kindness. And sometimes I even practice them. :-) Lovely post!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'm a late comer here on the Thanksgiving post, Beth, but I appreciate what you said. Funny, kindness has become a major theme in book 3 of my series. I've heard two or three stories just recently of people finding lost phones and making an effort to get them back to their owners. It's a modern day kindness among strangers. I bet we see more and more of it. Thanks, Beth

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for stopping by, Virginia. Acts of kindness in a story always make me smile.

      Delete
  6. Thanks!!

    Wow great article! Will surely use these tips to gain more subscribers! Thank you so much! Keep on writing and more power!
    office.com/setup | norton.com/setup | mcafee.com/activate

    ReplyDelete
  7. Have you heard about pythondevs.org? They have the best python developers for web and mobile development.

    protection from automated bots

    ReplyDelete
  8. Iamcafee is an oriented antivirus software for pc or mobiles. McAfee items ensure that each need of the clients is satisfied. So IaMcAfee items are structured in light of keeping this. This is the reason there are such a large number of McAfee programming accessible on the web. Be it McAfee Total Protection, McAfee Internet Security, McAfee Security Scan Plus, or McAfee 360 Total Security, every one of them is intended to satisfy a diverse segment of society. Pick the most appropriate item for you and get viable all-around insurance for your framework at mcafee.com/activate.
    mcafee.com/activate | mcafee activate | install mcafee with activation code

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hey there, I’m David. I’m a software engineer living in Sussex, NJ 07461, USA. I am a fan of web development. I’m also interested in Cyber security, cryptography, malware, social engineering, internet and new media. You can visit my company website with a click on the button above.
    Mcafee.com/activate| Norton.com/setup | Webroot.com/safe
    Hey there, I’m David. I’m a software engineer living in Sussex, NJ 07461, USA. I am a fan of web development. I’m also interested in Cyber security, cryptography, malware, social engineering, internet and new media. You can visit my company website with a click on the button above.
    Mcafee.com/activate| Norton.com/setup | Webroot.com/safe

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment