“Treat everyone you meet like God in drag” ~ Ram Dass
— — —
Dear Little One
We've never met, but I've been thinking of you and the story of your broken wing
On his way to work one morning, someone I know and love saw you lying on the road. At first, he thought you had passed, that is until you turned your head. It wasn't long before he came back to see if he could help
Thank goodness the other cars were already going around, so you wouldn't be hit again
You had to have been frightened as he approached, but you didn't put up a fight. His sweatshirt wrapped around to keep you safe and warm on the way to the hospital. It's the same emergency room I brought Z, our pug to, the day he hit his head. The people there are wonderful, and you were in the best of hands
— — —
You're a lucky bird to have been spotted by him that day
What you don't know is, he's a man of many passions. The deepest of which is an innermost desire to leave tiny fingerprints on the hearts of everyone (and every creature) he meets. Even those he has not. He isn't in the business of grand gestures, but instead slowly betters the world around him with small acts of kindness
A handwritten note here, a gift from his workshop there
A steady stream of love and service, until you wake up one morning and realize that you're a better person for having known him
— — —
And so here I am, a week later, still thinking about you and wondering if you're ok
The world can sure be a tough place
But what I do know is this, there's also kindness. People who will still stop to help, sanctuaries for birds who can't fly, doctors and nurses and kindhearted souls who are willing to pick is up and patch us back together when we're hurting and broken
And for this, I am so very grateful
xoxo
Friends, what's inspiring you this week?
ps: For more Midweek Inspiration: Good reads for our nightstands .. What do you eat when you're home alone? .. and Instagram accounts you'll love to love
( Featured Image Photo Credit – Instagram – @tanja_brandt )
80 Comments
Reading about this precious show of love really touched a cord in my heart. I love the part that there is kindness here, which is so true. We can get so overwhelmed by the evil in the world but there is true generosity, love, support and care out there. My faith and family inspire me so much. Would be lost without them.
This is such a sweet post, honestly its lovely. I think this week my inspiration is my partner. He’s had a lot on his plate lately and is still so motivated as well as trying to be my motivation too!
This week kindness looked like a loaf of homemade strawberry rhubarb bread left on my doormat from an upstairs neighbor. A childhood friend who listened — really listened — to a particular heartbreak of mine; who offered no advice or admonishment; and when I cried, she cried too.
Yes kindness is so important!! This post makes me happy and is something I definitely needed this morning.
I hope little owl is okay. Lucky your friend stopped to help.
This was uplifting to read. Kindness costs nothing, but makes the biggest difference. x
I am just sucked up into your stories Ali!
Kindness…in my case, we try to be kind to everyone, young and old, rich and poor. We are so keen on kindness that even my elest daughter’s second name is the Chinese word for kindness. I believe that our acts of kindness will resonate to other people. So even if these are just simple acts and it may not come back to us directly, it will go forward. 😀
Oh what a post – what a lovely person to have stopped and helped. I hope the little bird is doing a lot better and will one day be able to take flight again.
“And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.” -Roald Dahl
How beautiful this story is, this lucky bird and that amazing person who did all the efforts to help a bird hit on the road. These small acts of kindness makes us so happy and gives a feel that yes goodness is still alive in this world.
Such a lovely story, I’m feeling really inspired by the sunshine and weather x
I have come to value kindness and consideration more and more as I’ve gotten older. My husband is truly one of the kindest people I’ve ever met and he’s my daily reminder
Love Love Love! Kindness is definitely a message that can’t be shared enough!
Thanks for posting this, wouldn’t have seen it otherwise. It reminds me of my Mother’s adopted life motto: ‘Never let it be said you didn’t do the least you could do’
Have you ever read Wonder by R.J. Palacio? It’s one of the best books and is all about being kinder than necessary. It’s truly magical. xx
This might be my favorite post yet. Maybe because I have been going over and over in my mind if I want to step out on a limb and it just reminded me that I’m not doing it because of what I might receive, I’m doing it because of what I can give. Thank-you for the reminder.
Thanks so much for sharing this! I’ve recently gone through a very trying period in my life, both physically and emotionally, and just this morning asked myself how I can grow from the experience. The quote: “Be kind; everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle” came to my mind as a motto
Of all the wonderful food blogs I read, your writing voice makes me feel the most at home. It is simple, warm, and endearing. I just can’t say enough.
I just loved this…so heartfelt! And especially that quote by Ram Dass, ‘Treat everyone you meet like God in drag” simply says it all. For as much as there is much bad in the world, kindness still exists. I’ll take that as my motto this week.
Every now and then, I get a Sunday morning all to myself. When I do, I make myself breakfast and coffee, head out to the patio and bask in the early morning light, the quiet, and the joy of reading every blog post of yours since the last time I had a Sunday morning all to myself. And every time I get to, I think I should let you know how much I enjoy it…so today I am.
Awww bless, it is a rarity these days or people be naturally kind to creatures or even fellow humans. Kindness is so important
This was so inspiring to read. To leave a mark on someone’s life like this is the best way to live your life. I think it’s all about being kind to the people around you, not so they can remember you, but so they can also be inspired to be kind to others.
This was amazing, my week has also gone amazingly, I’ve made a new group to help support others and build them up.
I chose to stand up for what I believe in at work instead of following the culture of being intimidated. I am hella proud of it and scared shitless at the same time!
I often think, if you remove religion from the equation, kindness is the one thing that sets humans apart – some of them at least.
Aww I hope he’s ok. Kindness is the greatest of all traits in my opinion.
I am with you on that – I do hope the bird is OK! I am with you on kindness it as well it is something we should try and make sure we put out.
Ah, such a lovely post. Kindness is so important – giving it to someone or something doesn’t take much but can sure make a world of difference. 🙂
Oh I love this! Kindness is the biggest lesson I reach my children and it’s the one quality I strive to have. If only we could all feel that way!
This is a very inspiring and sweet post. Something that’s inspiring me this week is knowing how many amazing and caring women are in the world.
I hope the little one you haven’t met yet is okay, I believe there’s still a lot of kindness in people these days.
My son inspired me this week. He bravely did a job that he regularly do with his sister because she was sick and could do it with him.
I wish all kids were taught to be loving and kind. What an amazing world it would be! It’s always refreshing to read about someone doing something for someone else without a self-serving motive.
So sweet! Yes, it’s always important to be kind. I have been teaching my kids the lesson often. I hope the bird is okay as well.
Kindness is inspiring me too. I have some friends who are willing to help out in a situation and I love them for it.
It is so nice to read about people that help out whether it is animals or people in need. I have taken in 2 rescue dogs so I hope others do the same.
What an incredible way for me to start the day. I love when people just stop their busy lives to be kind to someone else, a human or an animal. Bravo!
What a wonderful show of love that so many people would have walked on by and never done anything to help. Lesson for all of us to learn and remember.
Awe, what a sweet post. Glad your friend helped the owl. Kindess is so important.
What a lovely post – very heartfelt. It’s so important to show kindness everyday.
I love this…. I’m sitting in the car waiting for my baby to wake up so we can go back inside and this just made MY day 🙂 Beautiful, thank you!
My oldest has an amazing way with animals. He always stops to try to check on and save injured animals when possible.
This is soooo soooooo lovely. I really hope that the owl was okay and is doing well. xx
This made my day in ways you can’t understand. It’s a particularly challenging morning for me and I needed some good old-fashioned kindness. Thank-You for sharing…
I have always had a soft spot for animals. But above all, I value kindness very much. I think it’s something that the world needs more of. Definitely.
Wow. What beautiful sentiment. This will stick with me for a long time: “An innermost desire to leave tiny fingerprints on the hearts of everyone (and every creature) he meets..”
I hope that bird is okay too. Was it a bird or an owl? Its caretaker sounds like a wonderful person too. Some you could definitely look up to and try to be like.
So lovely, an inspiration to be better!
Such a heartwarming read! I hope the owl is flying happily around somewhere. So glad to hear how your loved one stooped to take care of the bird. I see so many birds being hit and drivers almost never stop.
What a lovely post. We should all understand the importance of kindness and caring for both human and our animal friends. This is something that my mum instilled in my siblings and me and which my husband and I now pass on to our own kids. I hope that the little owl made a good recovery.
I read somewhere that you can always measure the decency of a person by the way they treat animals. So good that there are still people who will stop to help an injured bird.
I’ve had a particularly hard couple of days, those where even the smallest kindnesses seem to be elusive. So I’m practicing being kind to myself. There is tremendous kindness in a hot shower. A steamy, glasses-fogging bowl of soup, and cat/cow in my pajamas right before bed. xo
So glad your friend was there to rescue the sweet little bird! We rescued a baby owl when we were kids and it went on to live the rest of its life in the wildlife sanctuary. I hope your little one gets to do the same.
What a sweet post. Unusual kindness is rare…doing something nice and selfless for the sake of doing it. No motives or rewards involved. I’m glad it still exists! Thanks for sharing. I hope we can all be kind and generous with our time.
We get so wrapped in where we need to go, where we need to be, other’s expectations. When sometimes, it’s better to stop and help someone or something. They are no lesser or less important than what is going on in our lives. This was a very touching post and a good reminder to always help others in need.
This is a beautiful post. Sometimes we just need a reminder of the simple things and how simple words of encouragement can lift those who need it the most up.
Honestly, I have been so busy and on the go with all of the things I have to do that I just haven’t had much in the inspiration department this week. I just kind of feel rung over the coals. This is really such a beautiful story though. It’s great that he stopped just to help a bird. Very beautiful.
Love this post. One simple act of kindness can mean a lot to someone else.
How lovely. A random act of kindness towards animals or people is always a nice thing to hear about. I have nursed a few birds back to health over the years.
What a lovely post and we visited a bloggers conference last week and was inspired to be kind to others after a ‘happiness’ talk. Kindness doesn’t cost us anything x
What a cute story, and it’s good that someone helped with the little bird x
Awww poor little owl – I rescued a bat not so long ago and made sure we found out whether it made it or not
Awww I hope he’s okay too. You are right that there are always people out there wanting and willing to help.
My daughter loves owls and every bird she sees. When we read a book about one bird getting hurt she almost cried. I wish she will become a helper when she’s older.
What a beautiful post! Music and sunny weather inspires me, and success stories 🙂 Have a good weekend!
Sometimes its the little things like this that makes us ponder about life and what happens next. So glad your friend stopped for the birl and hope he’s ok.
Good your friend stopped to help the bird. We need to show a little kindness like this everyday.
This is such a lovely post! I have always said kindness is the key to everything and I always try to make sure that my daughter lives by that too x
I am trying to practice kindness more often. I drove 45 minutes to take my father-in-law to the store and reminded myself to do it with a cheerful heart.
This is a beautiful post! We definitely need to have a little more kindness in the world. There are so many things happening every day and if we spread it maybe we wouldn’t have so many unfortunate events.
This is so kind when so many would just drive by. Well done for stopping and leaving kindness where you touched.
This post filled me with such hope. Hope that, one day, almost everyone will be this kind. I see glimpses of kindness each day where I live, but I also see a lot of people ignore the stuff that’s going on around them. When I passed out in the middle of the road last year no-one stopped to help. One guy pipped his horn and swerved around me as I was coming round and trying to crawl to safety, but he didn’t stop to help 🙁
Louise x
I’m definitely inspired by this post to write something about a friendly stray cat I met a long time ago! He was a lovely, handsome black cat with a bit of white on his chest fur and while he may not be as affectionate as other animals, he would always lie down beside me when I’m there as a sign of trust. Love that cat!
Beautiful and sweet. Cheers to a world of kindness. There is so much of it out there and we can always be part of that.
Kindness is so important. There’s so little of it being spread these days, I am glad you wrote this as a reminder for us all to be kinder to each other and practice kindness because it makes us internally happier!
I had to share that reading your archives, has been the best way to spend two days home sick in bed. Your advice is thoughtful, sensible, truthful and respectful. I’m a 50 something woman, and I’m learning so much from you and your readers. This blog is a wonderful use of the Interwebs. Thank you! 🙂
thank you. I like you.
This is such a heart touching post. I absolutely love those people who are not in the business of grand gestures, rather slowly better the world. Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.
Ali, I’ve been lurking here for a long, long time, so I’m finally going to leave a comment. All your posts are so inspiring and never fail to make me want to cook and be a better person. Thank you.
I have been a reader and follower of your work for a long time. I started following your blog because of your great love for cookies. Then I realized that food was just a medium, it really is about your writing. You have such a way with words and thoughts
Love your posts, Ali. Your writing and storing telling always gets me. Every time. xx