Tag: help others

Inspiration is everywhere!

Inspiration is everywhere!

People change lives.  Everyday this happens, a person changes someone else’s life.  That’s quite a bit of power to be able to literally change someone’s life.  That’s actually incredible if you truly think about that.  Strangers, doctors, retail associates, food servers, teachers, police officers, managers, etc.  They all have the power to change someone’s life in such a positive and meaningful way.  Any person can change a life and I have had many that have changed mine recently.

First and foremost, I am mostly positive, not always, but mostly.  I like to believe that people do good and deep down are good.  I hope to leave my house each day knowing that there are going to be people that I have the ability to impact in a great way.  While I hope to have that impact, there are also so many people that change mine (probably without even realizing it!).  I like to think about how the small things people are doing are changing my life in a pretty cool way.  This first group of people that has regularly and frequently been changing my life are the Lowe’s employees.  They always seem to make me smile even if it’s the second or third time I’ve been in my local Lowe’s store.  They add smiles and humor to my life.  From the carpet guy to the countertop lady, to the guy in doors yesterday who said to us in a joking way, “Aren’t you done renovating yet?…” , our trips to Lowe’s have become an adventure.  Nearly every employee knows us when they see us coming, many ask about the progress on our house, if we are finished painting, requesting to see pictures, or just saying something like, “You’re back again” or “I think I’ve seen you every day this week”.  While it might seem crazy, it seems like their humor and smiles makes us feel like family.

Lowe’s might seem odd, but it’s renovation time and that means life is crazy!  I must find the small things in life and their impact is helping me get through the chaos!  As for the others, I met two phenomenal people that just happened to impact my life.  Both inspired me and motivated me.  The first, an amazingly successful person that owns a business in California.  He’s gone through many different phases in life and has had many different adventures, many of which I was a bit envious of, but mostly because they aligned with goals I hope to achieve at one point in my life.  Generally, he’s lived abroad and I dream of doing that, he has the ability to give back in a very large capacity and I hope to do that more and more, and he’s got a calm and pleasant demeanor that makes him admirable in his role as a business owner (I hope to become more calm with each school year!).  Generally, we meet a lot of people, but this was a person that I felt like really appreciates giving back and that’s of course something I can get behind!  As someone that would love to continue to expand my backpack drive, even possibly forming it into a non-profit, it was cool to hear that he has a passion and heart for giving back, too.  As a side note, I met him at a presentation he gave to my early bird class and he later inspired a story that my afternoon classes wrote together.  We created a “class story” together and it started with, “One day Mrs. Jamieson’s class went on an adventure to California to open a computer technology company…”.  It was cool to see the class use their imagination based on a speaker that impacted my life.

Finally, a speaker for my early bird class came and shared a life-changing story that was beyond inspirational.  The story he shared about his cousin who died of cancer was heartbreaking yet motivational.  He used that sadness and turned it into a way to change the lives of others.  The way he has used his cousin’s death to help others with cancer through exercise is one of the coolest, selfless, and inspiring acts that I have heard.  The amazing things that his program, Strong Survivors, is doing for cancer patients to improve their lives has made a lasting impact on my life.  It really gives me more perspective on why I think life is about helping other people.

With all of that, these people have not only impacted my life, they have helped me, motivated me, and inspired me.  They have made me laugh, smile, and reaffirm why helping people is what life is all about.  It gives you purpose and that will give more to you in life than money ever will.  Keep on smiling, giving, helping others, and #AlwaysChooseKindness!

~jj

Always help others…no matter what!

Always help others…no matter what!

Summer has officially been over for a month and it has taken me this long to sit down and write about someone that touched my heart when I was volunteering one evening in August.  I was volunteering at my alma mater because I love to help welcome the students back to campus.  It was a casual evening where I helped give directions to students, greet students, and welcome them during a “Back to Campus” event.  It was simple and easy to do.  I didn’t feel like I had done much other than say hi and welcome back to students.  As I was walking around at the very end of the night I came upon a student that was walking home after the event.  I walked by as I was browsing my phone and then circled back because there was something about the student that concerned me.  He had a physical handicap that made walking very difficult.  He was also staring at his phone with a confused look upon his face as if he needed something.  I could tell he was struggling so I asked if he needed help.  He said, “I am trying to figure out what direction to go to get back to the dorms.”  I explained the location of the dorms, but also wanted to make sure he could get to a bus because walking was very difficult for him.  It made me realize how much I take walking for granted.

He seemed very grateful for the help.  I actually wasn’t sure if the buses were running on their normal bus schedule so I went to verify it with campus staff to be sure he was able to get to where he needed to go.  He got the directions he needed to get to the bus stop and that was something that made me realize how important it is to offer help.  I came across this young student at just the right time to assist him with getting back to the dorms safely.

Not only did he remind me of the importance of helping others and being present rather than browsing on my phone, but he also forced me to think about how much I take my legs and feet for granted.  That student had a permanent handicap that prevented him from walking at a steady pace or maintaining quality balance.  It’s something that many of us take for granted on a daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly basis.  Next time you see someone who may need help, may be handicapped, or may need guidance I implore you to do the right thing.  It’s too easy to look down, look at your phone, stare, or just simply not want to get involved with others, but that’s not the right thing to do.  We are meant to be kind and help other people.  There’s a reason why we should be kind – that reason is often to help someone else, inspire someone else, or make the lives of those around us better.  After all, you will find more purpose and meaning when you give back and help others than you will in any other facet of your life.

~jj

#ProjectKindnessBook

#AlwaysChooseKindness

Social media & sharing icons powered by UltimatelySocial