Kindness

"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."

-Maya Angelou

The words of the late and profound poetess have been humming through my mind lately...thinking how we can be so caught up in routine that we don't give any consideration to the impact of our actions.

• Could I have offered a smile or a hello to the stranger in the grocery store?
• Did I really need to be so smug in proving myself "right" to my husband, only to make him feel bad?
• Did I say thanks to my kids for the chores they finished? Instead of muttering to myself about the parts they didn't?

My mother was telling me a story about a customer the other day. Okay, not a customer–a person who visited her shop. The lady wanted to purchase a baby gift (a hat specifically), but hated everything my mother presented her and expressed her dissatisfaction with gusto. (Now, my mother is a people-pleaser and was quite apologetic, but there was no pleasing the woman. She left the store, basically announcing her disgust with a few choice words. When Mom told me the story, I felt my skin prickle. Obviously, not everyone is going to be pleased with particular merchandise, but why the rudeness? My mother commented, "I would've reprimanded my three-year-old for acting that way." 

How sad for the woman. I'm guessing she's avoided by a few people because of her condescending nature. Perhaps she doesn't even know how she makes people feel. Luckily, most of my mother's stories in the shop or exactly the opposite of this. My mama is nice. People are generally happy in her store.

We tell our kids to study hard, pick up after themselves, keep up their practice in sports or instruments. But how much time do we devote to teaching them to offer kindness? 

Probably not enough.

Thanks Maya Angelou for your beautiful words.

R.I.P.