One of my favorite quotes of all time is by Mahatma Gandhi.
These few words inject immediate hope into my situation in whatever stance I am perceiving my world at the time. They remind me that out of all of the times I feel utterly powerless and am pulled down by negative new stories and events out of my control, I do have incredible power.
I can change my or someone else’s world by my next action, interaction and even the way I think.
It has always amazed me that when I reflect on some of the happiest people I know or some of the most influential and motivating people in our history, a significant portion of them have not only gone through incredible challenges and heartbreak, but are also some of the most simple people with very little material possessions.
When you examine the essence and requirements, if you will, of happiness through others’ example, those people always seem to have the same three characteristics associated with them.
These choices and explorations are completely free. They are simple commitments you can choose again and again that can snowball into complete life change.
Kindness.
There are so many examples of kindness in our world and aren’t they amazing!?
My husband and I experienced immense kindness firsthand just a few days ago.
We all love to watch videos, give to foundations, and read articles of how seemingly small ideas or events snowball into massive community involvement and world change. These stories stretch us and make our hearts grow a bit bigger. When we engage in undue kindness toward others, we allow God to work through us and mold us into what we were created to be – love.
I have a few examples of recent inspiring kindness events and movements that have moved me personally.
Our local schools in Forsyth County celebrated World Kindness Day on Tuesday, November 13th. All of our kiddos were encouraged to wear pajamas to school and engage in random acts of kindness throughout the day. This all in the spirit that #kindnessneversleeps.
Through this awareness day, I have become aware of a local teen and family project, Jordyn’s Summer Shirt Project, that reminds our young ones to be “be kind to everyone”. The goal for this local family is to help their 17 year old daughter with autism to learn life skills through fulfillment of t-shirt orders that could turn into a future opportunity for her after high school.
I know so many other local family and community fundraisers that have moved me recently.
I am planning on creating a monthly review and article posting around local charities and family events that need attention. If you know of any, please email me courtneycrane@honestbutkind.com!
Joy.
Have you ever met someone incredibly joyful? I bet it makes you happy just to be around them. I bet you look forward to being near their energy again and again. There are people I know that have this quality. Just thinking about them makes me smile. I know that this is something I have to work very hard at. Someday I hope to be the person that comes to mind for someone else when they think of a joyful person.
Regardless of our circumstances we can choose joy and bask in the gratefulness of our situations.
This truth is so eloquently captured by the song joy. by Kind and Country.
This song reminds me that having joy in my life has nothing to do with the condition or the state of my life.
It has everything to do with how I choose to respond to my situation and focus on the countless incredible things I have been given.
The amazing truth is that joy is always sitting inside each of us – we just have to grab and hold onto it.
We just have to intently choose it.
And when we choose joy in the midst of our greatest struggles, something incredible happens in our hearts and we are forever changed by the choice we made.
Faith.
You can only do so much to better your situation. Even if you do all the “right things”, are kind to others and choose joy in the midst of the chaos that is your life, you’re still going to have to let go of the ultimate outcome if you want to be happy.
One of my favorite reminders of this is the Psalm verse below.
Our natural inclination is to hold onto control around the things we want to happen the most.
For me there is a bit of a frenzied panic that ensues when I realize something is happening in my life I don’t want to allow.
Ultimately, I have to realize that there is a lot that will happen to me and my family that isn’t really under my control.
I absolutely can and should work toward the positive changes I want to happen in my life. I should also ask for direction and be lead in my life’s adventure, but at the end of the day, I do not will anything into existence that is not meant to happen. I have to rely on something bigger than me and I have to trust that there is a God that looks after my best interest and loves me unconditionally.
I didn’t always feel this way. I didn’t always have faith or trust that there was a God that knew my name and loved me more than I could ever imagine. My faith journey is simply that. A journey. Something I have to constantly pursue, question, give in to, pray about, resist and believe in again – moment by moment.
But I wouldn’t choose anything else but to be on the walk. I have realized that the journey rather than the destination is what continues to grow and change me into what God is intending for me to become.
So, if you find yourself stuck, in an icky moment, or just looking for some inspiration, remember that our lives are made up of trillions of choices.
The more you give into the three choices below, the more you allow yourself to change into the love you were created to be.
Kindness.
Joy.
Faith.
Be Honest: I wish I could say it is easy to choose these attributes so instinctively that they would define your character to the people you know. It’s not easy for someone like me with all of my faults and flaws to overcome my brokenness and intentionally choose to pursue these qualities over and over. It’s much easier not to.
Be Kind: Good news is we have amazing examples all around us to inspire us and we are never alone! Find the articles, quotes, stories, people and verses that motivate you to become the incredibly loving person you were created to be!
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