aasharon90

As I continue to listen, learn, absorb
and apply a successful recovery program
in my everyday life, practice kindness
to people that pass us each day, expecting
nothing in return, then be prepared for
little gifts of blessings to come your way.

For example, for the past 24 yrs, I crawled
and clawed my way thru recovery sticking
to the program no matter what and slowly,
small little gifts, rewards have been granted
to me.

A quick trip to Walmart this morning for
a few weekly items, guiding us up and
down the isles, reaching high and low
to fill our basket. Of course, for my husband
and I, we are just normal 5'4" folks, so
reaching for some of those way in the
back items can take a little engineering
to get them. HOWEVER.....

Every now and then, we look to see if
a tall person is nearby to help us if needed.
This morning as we tried to figure how to
reach something in the meat section way
at the top and far in the back, a tall man
near us heard us trying to figure out how
to reach it and promptly offered to reach
for us what we needed.

We thanked him so much for his kindness
and help which made all of us smile.

My husband and I just about know everyone
who works at Walmart, even the vendors just
because we go so often. Anyway, my kindness
always extends into a hug and a how are
you today to them.

As we began to check out, one employee
lady was checking out too and she quietly
walked to us and she used her card to
give us a discount on our total. OMG, at
first I didn't understand but the gesture
was done out of the kindness and generosity
of her heart.

Have any of you here in SR experienced
kindness from strangers? Do you pass
on your own kindness to other with not
looking for anything in return? No expectations?

DoPerdition

I experience the kindness of strangers every time I post here. I am very grateful for that.

ArtFriend

Interesting that you brought this up. About 4 days ago, I was in the downtown area of Dallas in not such a good area. I saw this small Asian man pushing his shopping cart down this major street against traffic. It was very dangerous and people were swerving around him and yelling. I pulled over to the next side street, got out and asked him where he lived. He only lived about 6 blocks away, so I put all of his stuff in the car and drove him home. He was elderly and disabled and lived in a dump. I gave him some money. He was so very thankful. It helped me to be able to help him!

aasharon90

Kindness whether given or received
gives me goosies. Goose bumps.

It makes our hearts grow 10x bigger.

Like the Grinch who stole Christmas.

DoPerdition

I am stealing "goosies". That is too cute!

Aellyce

Hi Sharon - yes, definitely! This is actually one of the most pleasant aspects of personal growth I've experienced in recovery and I feel it's only getting better. I never considered myself as much of a helper kind of person before and I thought I would be the worst person to do any kind of service work. I also tended to be quite cynical about people and their motivations at times. I see all this quite differently now. I notice good will and kindness much more in people, including strangers. I think I've always been someone who enjoyed deep and meaningful connections with specific, select people... but did not pay much attention to strangers. I now find helping others (without expecting anything) one of the most personally satisfying activities. I recognize probably the basic motivation has always been there, but I was too self-absorbed to experience it fully, and especially to express it.

Nice post

aasharon90

Personal Growth as we live in Recovery.
I like that haennie. And see, what a
wonderful, rewarding feeling it was,
ArtFriend, when you offered to help
the elderly man? When he least expected
help from a stranger, there you were
out of the kindness of your heart to aid
him.

Do you think it's selfish of us to help
someone just to make us feel good
about ourselves? Is it selfish to want
to be happy? Is it selfish of us to want
sobriety, health, to reach for our goals
in life?

I suppose, the more we practice living
in recovery, the more of ourselves we
give unselfishly.

Anyone else LUV GOOSIES? lol

Twofish

Dear Sharon,
This is a beautiful thread and thank you for starting it!
I'm 5'7 and would help you or anyone reach an object.
I appreciate a smile or a "hi" from a stranger, I'd feel not
so alone in this big old world, especially in the middle of
this divorce I find myself in.
So anyone who sees me walking around, all sad and lonely, say
"Hi" or smile at me! The kindness of a stranger on the receiving
end will be much appreciated!
TF

aasharon90

Thank You TF for your kind words.

Each day we wake up sober, we have
our day ahead of us. We never know
what our days hold for us, so we take
it as it comes.

There are days when we have our recovery
thoughts in place using them with whatever
comes our way. Many things are not always
pleasant, like divorces, cruel people, or even
the way we feel.

No matter what mood we are in, if we
have our recovery program anchored
down securely, the we can continue on
our path knowing that this too shall pass.

A little kindness never goes unseen or
unheard as my faith and spiritual progress
in recovery helps me firmly believe that
the Man upstairs does keep track of my
deeds done on Earth

So, for each smile I share, each hug,
hand shake, kind gesture, for each
little soul I save in my pool, it all
adds up, then out of the clear blue
something wonderful happens like
the man that helps us this morning
to the employee giving us a discount
on our groceries. An on a note, we've
never had that done to us before, so
it was a complete surprise.

Sharing here with folks just beginning
their recovery journey to those guiding
the way for them, kind words, not
judging them, showing compassion,
and so on till one day out of the blue,
you get an incoming friends request,
or a private message or a simple thank
you for following is perfect kindness
with no expectations.