Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 78 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom.

I Shall Not Pass This Way Again (Part 3)

Thank you for joining us for our 7 day a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 78 of our Trek. Yesterday we looked at steps 1-6, and today we will explore steps 7-15 of how to perform random acts of kindness each day because we will never be able to relive this day on the trek of life again.

We are recording our podcast from our studio at Home2 in Charlotte, North Carolina. This morning we were able to worship and fellowship at church, which was a blessing. We have been out of town so much this year that we miss the time together with our local fellowship. We have come to appreciate our faith community each week, regardless of where we are on a particular Sunday.

After church Paula and I ate at a restaurant that that we had not tried before. It was a Genghis Grill where they have you select all the ingredients from the serving line, and the cooks grill it on a massive round grill. The food was good, and the staff was very helpful. Paula and I do not eat out very often because we like to prepare and control what we are eating at meals, but we will probably revisit this location on occasion.

After lunch we did a little shopping, including our weekly grocery shopping. We love to spend time together regardless of the activity.  This is a good thing since we work together every day in the same office. We certainly do count this a blessing.

So, let’s continue on our trail today looking for ways that we can show kindness to others. Sometimes the trails of life can be very rough and steep, and we don’t really feel like being kind. I certainly understand that. But, we have to realize that being kind is usually easy, and it benefits both the person that we are being kind to and us as we are kind. Never pass up this opportunity.

Today we will finish with steps 7-15 providing examples of random acts of kindness. Kindness is an essential part of creating a living legacy. As we practice kindness, even when we may not feel like it, we become kind people. It cannot be prevented.

Being kind is a choice that we make. Look for opportunities at all times to be kind. As you practice these acts of kindness with no expectations of return, you will be showing from within that you are kind.

Here are the last 7 steps on our trail for encouraging others with our random acts of kindness.

Step #7

Volunteer by offering helping hands.

Do you ever see homeless people and feel overwhelmed by your inability to make a difference? Even if you can't help them all or change their long-term situation in life, you can do a lot with one small act. Buy a pair of gloves, provide a spare blanket, or make up food parcels for someone who is living on the cold streets, or provide them to any organization that serves the homeless.

Another way to volunteer is to clean up trash in public places without being asked. The next time you see someone littering,don't just shake your head and look the other way. Be kind, pick up the litter, and throw it away. While you're at it, look around the street for any other trash that needs to be removed. If you take a walk, take a plastic grocery bag so you can collect the trash that would otherwise just make you unhappy, and know that you're doing a random act of kindness for the people who will come through after you!

Step #8

Shower a coworker with kindness. Offer to take them out to lunch or provide them with money for a dinner they can take home with them after work. Finish off some of their work for them so they can go home early for their kid's birthday party or after school activity.