the ripple effect

I can live for two months on a good compliment - Mark Twain

Every time you are thoughtful, appreciative, loving, joyful, complimentary, or simply being congenial with another person, your seemingly small act of kindness is like casting a stone in a pond and watching the ripples grow larger and larger until the entire pond is affected.

Imagine that when you extend a simple act of kindness, a ball of light is created that radiates an energy of love within it.  And this ball grows larger with each person it touches, infusing light and joy throughout their beings.  Imbued in the energy of your gift, the person who was touched by your kindness carries the ball of light home with them where each of their family members is also touched by it.  Next, as their family members interact with others, they pass the ball of light onto each of them.  And each of those folks then passes the ball of light and love continues to grow larger and larger with each new person it touches.  In fact, it will grow to such remarkable proportions that it will affect the entire world!

Think about how you feel when someone compliments you.  Great, right?  It sends your frequency soaring, doesn't it?  What a wonderful gift.  What an extraordinary feeling of love!  So don't keep those marvelous feelings inside of you.  Let someone know if you think something wonderful about them.  You might just make their day!

When you receive a compliment, are you immediately suspicious, presuming that someone has an ulterior motive?  If so, STOP.  It's a wrong-way sign.  Instead, be grateful for the compliment.  Thank the person and glow in their recognition of one of your gifts.  If you're a gal and the guys whistle at you, smile back and say, "thank you, you just made my day," rather than walking by with your nose in the air.  Remember, we have all been programmed to assume the negative, so oftentimes our knee-jerk response is to distort and dismiss the good.  So, it may take a little work to consciously retrain yourself to accept the good.  In reality, it's a risk for someone to share with you; so acknowledge and appreciate their courage.  Let them know that they made your day.

A warm smile is the universal language of kindness. William Arthur Ward

Our joy scatters a hundred griefs. Chinese proverb

How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good deed in a naughty world. William Shakespeare

Kindness is gladdening the hearts of those who are traveling the dark journey with us. Henri-Frederic Amiel

Those who bring sunshine to the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves. xo

thanks to Lauren Tratar for allowing me to share