About two months ago my uncle died and my aunt asked for donations to be given to the Renfrew Alzheimer Society. Then, pleased as punch, she reported to me that my Dad had sent in a donation.
The internet makes all this possible because I had placed the death notice in the Ottawa paper and it automatically went to their webpage. Then my Dad, in Barbados, got online to make the donation in my uncle's name on the Renfrew Alzheimer Society's webpage.
I say all this because the simple act of my father pleased my aunt so much. She'd had a really rough few months and had smiled very little. But as she shared the news she beamed. As time went on she had a few more gestures from friends that helped her not only recover her smile, but keep it.
I've read the story - you probably have too - about the young boy going home from school ready to commit suicide. On the way he drops his books, another youngster helps him to pick them up, and invites him to play ball. It is at his college graduation he thanks his friend for saving his life.
I've seen how our small gestures can make such a big difference in the lives of those around us. I remember feeling low one night and getting an email from someone I'd never met. Her note was to praise me on one of my blog posts, and in that moment meant the world to me.
We have busy lives, I know, yet it doesn't take a huge effort to send a card, an email, or some flowers. Add a note of thank you, well done, congrats, or I miss you. I know we can do all that on Facebook, twitter et al, but think of how much fun it is to receive something through snail-mail. Or a personal email. Or even a phone call.
Maybe it's the unexpectedness of it too that adds to the enjoyment. Nice surprises are always fun. At the very least smile, genuinely smile, with people you pass today.
It will uplift you just as much as those you meet!