(Hot Air Balloon)
(Granville Millinery Company)
Be a blessing, pay it forward ... and you'll receive
beautiful change ... a change in you.
"... Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust Him to help you do it and He will." Psalm 37
It depicts kindness in a dominoe effect.
When you touch one, others will be touched. The photo of the woman above left is a scene in that commercial. She watches as a female co-worker stops a male co-worker from falling out of his chair. And on her way home from work, our observer stops a child's basketball from going into traffic.
Here are more scenes from the Liberty Mutual's A Helping Hand is Contagious Commercial.
A woman leaving a coffee bar moves a man's cup off the edge of a table so he doesn't knock it over. A man waiting in line watches this act of kindness.
Outside, a baby in a stroller drops a stuffed animal onto the sidewalk with the mother unaware. The coffee bar man who watched the woman move the coffee cup, picks up the stuffed animal and returns it to the baby, while a woman observes nearby.
She's now on the corner waiting to cross the street when she pulls back a man stepping off the curb and protects him from a speeding car. A man behind them sees this blessing.
Now, we see this man inside an office building in a packed elevator. He stops the elevator door from closing on a woman and makes room for her in the elevator. You get the idea, acts of kindness can have a dominoe effect on the heart.
In other words, yes we are our brothers and sisters' keepers. Click on this link: Liberty Mutual Good Deeds to view the commercials on You Tube.
God gave us the best gift of all, His Son, so shouldn't we be a blessing to each other everyday? It doesn't have to be a big gesture, but what a great feeling when it is.
It could be as simple as holding a door, or letting a senior citizen go to the front of the line. Miracles and Blessings, Kiki here, on this wonderful holy week, as we get ready to celebrate Easter Sunday.
(Madison Avenue)
Madison Avenue tapped into this idea of showing acts of kindness to sell their products years ago. Hallmark corners the market in this heart string marketing.
But it's two-fold--the messages also encourage consumers to be a blessing and pay it forward. Believe me, the blessings will return. I don't know if the latter was intentional by the advertising copywriters, I like to think it was.
I guess you can call this text-webisode a PSR, public service reminder. Let's look at it like this, helping a person in need or kindness shown toward a stranger will take the focus off your own worries and lift your spirits. Your problems will seem less like giants and more like temporary situations with on-the-way solutions.
I was watching a local news feature where the reporter was driving to a toll both, she paid for her toll and the car behind her. Can you imagine how the driver must have felt. I wouldn't be surprised if the driver reciprocated at some point.
Try these acts of kindness:
1. You're at the checkout line, the woman in front of you with the crying toddler, digs in her purse to find five more dollars to pay her $40 grocery bill. She starts to put items back. You pay the cashier the five dollars. Suddenly, you remember that you just received a promotion and pay raise at work, you decide to be a bigger blessing. You pay the $40 grocery bill.
2. Run errands for a neighbor who just came out of the hospital.
3. Make dinner for a caregiver of an elderly parent.
4. Let a car come out of a parking space.
5. Give flowers to a crossing guard you only know from saying hello.
6. Hold the door for the person behind you.
7. Offer to take a friend's child/children on an outing for the day.
8. Bring back an extra sandwich for a co-worker who often works through lunch.
Happy Easter!
Happy Resurrection Sunday!
