Tag Archives: Michael Beckwith

Paying It Backwards: A Random Act Of Kindness

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Have you ever wanted to do something nice for someone? Make their day? Have you ever thought of doing a random act of kindness? Paying it forward? Yesterday morning, while getting my morning ‘Cup of Joe,’ I decided it was time to pay it forward.

While turning into Starbucks parking lot, with thoughts of paying it forward, a Chevy Avalanche chose to cut me off. My first knee jerk reaction was, “You Jerk!” Then another voice steps in, “I guess he was in a hurry for his cup of coffee. Too bad, because I would have bought his morning coffee.” Had he not cut me off, he would have been right behind me, making him the recipient of paying it forward or in this case ‘paying it backwards.’ His loss; the person in the SUV behind me…their gain!

I ordered as usual and anticipated the random act of kindness. “Quad Venti, Two pump, White Chocolate Mocha, non-fat, no-whip please!”

As I ordered my morning pick-me-up, I wondered where this man was off to in such a hurry. Was he on his way to work? Did he think he was the king of the road? Funny how we begin to fill in the blanks, judging others by the automobiles they drive. I was way off from my assumption of him being a professional athlete. Judging by the large vehicle, the professional sport logos, tinted windows and the major college logo on his license plates, I thought for sure he was a pro ball player…he wasn’t. He was indeed in a hurry to get to work and was not fully in the moment of friendly driving.

When I approached the checkout window, the surprise was on me. The Barista asked me to ‘hold on.’ When she returned she explained, “your coffee has been paid for. The guy in front of you paid for it. When we asked if it was a random act of kindness, he replied No, I think I cut him off. Please extend my apologies.” Huh?! The person about to commit a random act of kindness, just got served a random act?! Who cool is that?!

When I explained to the Barista my plan for the morning and the irony of this gesture, we both chuckled as the person I would have  bought a coffee for, bought one for me. Nevertheless, I asked her to keep it going and still chuckling she complied.

The moral of the story is this…people may cut you off…stay on task. Whatever the goal of the day, do not let others sway you from having a good day. In the end, you will be happier and the mundane will not seem so mundane. Who knows…you might be pleasantly surprised as to how things work out.

Stepping into the Canvas ‘Paying it Backwards.’ As we step out today, may we practice random acts of kindness. Whether it be paying it forward or, while at your favorite coffee shop, ‘pay it backwards.’ In the end you will have made someones day, you will feel better and the domino effect can go on for eternity…

 

Reigniting One’s Faith

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It is often difficult to keep faithful when the world around us is collapsing. How do we stay faithful?…How do we stay focused on the positive side of things?…How do we stay positive in the canvas of life?

Next is a story of how one woman lost her faith, only to realize it had never left.

A friend of mine told me of her Grandmother and how strong her faith was. Her Grandmother’s faith was the rock of the family, but one day her faith had been lost…

One day her Grandmother explained to her, “I feel that I am losing my faith and God has abandoned me. I don’t feel I have a purpose anymore.”  Her Granddaughter didn’t know what to do, so she called other family members to help restore her faith.

While consoling Grandma, one of the children had noticed something very peculiar in the kitchen. The refrigerator had the word faith spelled out in letter magnets. You know that kind…when we were little? We used to spell out words on our parents refrigerator. The family noticed the word faith was missing a letter ‘T.’

“Mom, here is your problem! You have lost the ‘T’ in faith on your refrigerator, this must be why you are missing your faith?!” Insisting they look for the ‘T’ and that her faith resides in that word, they looked high and low for the ‘T’. They looked inside the fridge and out, but could not find it anywhere. They even pulled the refrigerator out and looked behind…but nothing…they lost hope. This left her helpless. Not finding the ‘T,’ grandma was left on her knees crying out with her arms raised to the heavens. With arms extended up she cried out, “I just need to know that everything will be okay.”

The very next day grandma woke and began her day by asking God for a sign, “Please Lord give me a sign that everything is going to be okay.  I don’t know what I’m going to do.  I don’t know if I have a purpose anymore…please just tell me it’s going to be okay.”  As she approached the fridge…she opened it. As she opened the refrigerator, there was the ‘T’ on the shelf.  The ‘T’ clearly was not there the day before, but miraculously has appeared. As if God himself was telling her it’s going to be okay…He placed a ‘T’ upon her shelf.

The irony to the story:  just as grandma was looking for her faith on the outside, we too are reminded that our faith resides on the inside. Traveling an inward journey we find our faith is truly strong. While Grandma found her faith restored within the refrigerator, she realized it was restored within herself.

We all have our challenging moments in life, but how we react to them…shall define our days ahead. We can waffle in misery or we can Shine On!  As we move forward in faith, our hope is restored…hope for a brighter future. When things bring us to our knees, rest for a moment and await the miracle in action. If we have a moment of helplessness or loneliness…rest…it too shall pass.

We are never alone…even when we are. If we enjoy the company of those present when alone…we shall never be alone. Plus we have a Senior partner with us, at all times…waiting for us to begin dialogue. Even if the world crashes down around us…we shall be taken care of.

Stepping into the Canvas by faith. No matter the outcomes, we shall focus on our own house. Keeping our own house in order, happiness begins eternal. It is through our faith that all will be good, we attract just that…more of what we want in our lives. Through our faith, we gain hope and through Hope we align with higher vibrations of creativity…Creating the life we want to Live.