The "Stranger" Effect

I recently received a piece of mail from my sister Cathy in Oklahoma.  Inside I found on the first page a few sentences that stopped me in my tracks.  I don't remember the exact wording, but it was something along these lines.

"I found this letter that Mom sent me a long time ago.  I don't want to drudge up old feelings or hurt feelings, but reading this letter has helped me see Mom in a different light, so I thought I would send it to you as well.  I've been missing her alot lately.

Love,
Cathy"

The next three pages attached were a letter that my mother had typed up.  All at once, I was taken back to another time.  I remembered getting letters like this from my Mother.  The same type font, the same spacing, all of it.  I am not going to go into what it said, because quite frankly, it is not something that she would want people to know, whether she is here with us or not.  That's not the point of this blog.

My sister Linda called me last night to check on me.  She said that she was worried about me having received that letter because she knew that it would a little tough for me to take.  I was kind of surprised by that, but the more that she talked, the more that I understood why she worried.  So, I started think about it.  Why didn't it affect me like everyone else thought it should have?  The answer came to me easily enough.

I was able to read through the whole thing, and instead of concentrating on the pain and suffering that she went through in her life, I tried to concentrate on the things that I could have done that would have made her life better. I then started thinking of ways that i could take these things that I could have done for her and incorporate them into my life now.  Here's what I came up with.

As I go through each and every day, I should always treat all people with dignity and respect.  As I walk down the street and see someone that is out of the ordinary, I shouldn't lean over and whisper to someone about it.  Don't laugh at them.  Don't do anything that I wouldn't want them to do to me in return.  I have no idea what goes on in their life, and I have no idea what my response to them could do to them or to their life.

There is so much hatred and abuse in this world.  It completely surrounds us every day, even if we don't realize it.  Statistically speaking, there is almost certainly someone in your life that is abused in one way or another...abuse that could cause that person to believe that they are not good enough, worthy of love, or anything of the like.  Contrary to that, I believe that every person in this world (whether we like them or not) is worthy of love, and we should do all that we can to make them feel worthy. 

So, finally, we reach the point of this blog...

The next time you walk down the street, and you see someone that you wouldn't normally talk to, speak to them.  Tell them hello and to have a great day.  You never know how much the encouraging words of a stranger could mean.  Besides, isn't it nice knowing that somehow, in some small way, you made someone's day just a little better?  I know it is to me.

Love and Hugs to all of you, and I hope that each and every one of you have a wonderful and blessed day.