Many years ago, when I heard a friend was getting surgery on a certain day, I mailed a card so it would arrive the afternoon of the surgery. She called later to thank me and sounded thrilled.
Through the years, I’ve had ideas for other nice gestures- sending flowers to someone who just had a baby, mailing a silly dollar store toy to a friend who was feeling down, sending a card to mark the anniversary of a death, calling to congratulate someone on a milestone- but then I got tired or lazy or “busy” (but apparently not too busy to watch stand-up comedy on YouTube), and I didn’t execute the ideas.
Sometimes I’m not aware of any recourse except my own guilty feelings. But other times, without knowing about my good intentions and lack of following through, the potential recipient may confide that they felt alone or stressed on the day that my good deed would have occurred. And then I kick myself because that small action could have made a real difference to them.
I’ve learned that, if you have an idea to do something thoughtful for another person, it’s always worth the effort to do it. If nothing else, at least you know you did the best you could.
What’s the point of having a great idea if you don’t act on it? What are we all here for together, if not to help each other along, to witnesses each other’s lives? To be cheerleaders for one another.
While we’re at it, why wait until the huge, most socially accepted milestones? Why not celebrate every little stone? I think we could all benefit from a little more celebrating.