Love Thy Neighbors

I thought I would post a little something for you all to think about today. It's a message about being courteous and helpful to your fellow humans, something I think many of us forget to be on a daily basis.

It seems simple right? Be nice and do what you can to help people. Well, this is something most of us have to continue to remind ourselves. Something we need to be self-aware of.

I bring this up because it's something I have been working on. It doesn't take much of your time or thought, but you DO have to remember to do it. Two ways I have been working on this "courteous and helpful thing", are very small but important ways.
First:  I always give financially when I can.
I try to at least give enough to the Salvation Army around the holidays to feed a couple of families. I give to the homeless loitering on the streets on occasion when I have a couple of dollars to spare. I know that some people assume they are going to spend it on alcohol, but I feel like "what if they don't"? See those Santa's ringing bells in front of the local grocery stores? Give them your change! There are a lot of opportunities at the grocery store... grab a bag of cat or dog food to throw in those bins outside for local animal shelters. At the very least, give $1 to whichever cause the grocery store is participating in that month. I always say yes, and offer to add $1 to my bill at the register. This makes a difference to someone, even if it doesn't seem like a big deal.

Second: I always try to be a NICE driver.
This is something most people do not ever think about. There are plenty of drivers out there with a whole lot of road-rage and plenty more who are complete jerks. When I am out on the road, I make a concious effort to be courteous and do what I can to make my fellow drivers commutes easier. I try to remember this when traffic is at it's worst during my morning commute to work. I take a route that sometimes gets completely backed up by a garbage truck, a school bus, or it's just plain packed. I always make an effort to let at least a couple waiting cars in ahead of me in line. They wait on cross streets sometimes for many minutes, trying to squeeze out onto the main road with no stop light or person slowing down to allow for this. I let them in.
Trust me, the greatful look on their faces will make it worthwhile.
Other things? Maybe just remember to use your blinker or wave when someone else let's you merge. Maybe do your best to keep your distance and not tailgate...or refrain from cutting people off.
There are many things you can do in this car-filled, everyone's late, it's raining and gloomy commute, to help make other people's lives a bit better.
Maybe other drivers are being raging a-holes today, that sucks. But don't be one of them, because if you are a courteous driver and be nice to others, they may just pay it forward and make someone else's morning.


I encourage you to pick a couple of things that you can work on doing to benefit others. They can be very small things, but still be helpful.
I challenge you to comment back with something you will do or continue to do, to make some sort of difference to someone else.