Monday, October 8, 2012

Just a Little Kindness


I had made a promise to myself that blogging would become a regular occurrence in order to share my experiences and motivate others. Life sometimes gets in the way as kidding season became crazy and cheese makes during the week became overwhelming. We make a living but by no means are rich. We are lucky when we take three steps forward financially we only take two back. This is a blessing that more of us should celebrate instead of worrying about that new cool gadget we can’t afford or our friend that shows it off gloating but can’t afford it either. Where am I going with this you ask? Think about the 20 dollar bill, something common in many people’s wallets. Today 20 dollars can buy a trip to the movies (just the movie), maybe a 1/3 tank of gas in my truck, the most awesome tacos from the taco stand down the road or a bag of feed and bale of hay for my goats. The other day, as I do at least once a week, I headed to the bank to make a deposit of the checks received from the various restaurants as well as money earned at the weekend farmers market. As I was making the deposit, the screen asked if I wanted any cash. I suddenly felt the need to get a little, not something I commonly do. Continuing with my afternoon, I needed to make a stop at the local store for some needed household supplies. After parking and as I walked from my truck a young man and lady approached me in their car. This is something not uncommon in the in parking lots in this particular neighborhood, but something struck me strange about this couple. He rolled his window down and spoke saying, “I am sure this won’t do any good but my wife and I are short $5 for a hotel, we have tried to sleep in the back of our car and it is just too hot and we are on our way to Austin as I am looking for a job”. This was definitely a plausible story given the state of today’s economy but my parents and life experience definitely instilled a level of distrust in me for such situations. I began to quiz him on his plight and he continued to explain about his lack of gasoline and bad tire. I walked around the car to verify his story and found it true. As I peered into his eyes it struck me that this man was begging not out of need for the next bottle or fast food burger but out of actual need. All he wanted to do was get to Austin and find a job. He said he spent an hour at another location only to receive a dollar. He was definitely discouraged. For the first time in years I felt I must give. I reached in my pocket and handed him a 10 dollar bill. He was shocked; he said “I only asked for $5.” I told him he needed it. He began to shed a tear and I noticed his wife was tearing up as well. I then reached in my pocket and handed him a 20 dollar bill. This man, who laid aside all pride and lowered himself to the lowest of levels of humanity in order to beg for the basic of needs, continued to tear up with a look of shock. He quickly introduced himself and began thanking me vigorously. I handed him my business card identifying myself. He said” all I want is a job that is all I want.” I wished him luck as he continued to thank me and told him if he came back through to stop off I might have work for him in the future. He swore he would pay me back one day which I responded to him “don’t’ worry about it just move yourself forward.” As I walked in the store I regretted not giving him more or giving him a job. As farmers we complain about the weather, or government regulations or bad sales or something, yet we forget to look at the blessings all around us. Making fabulous cheese, seeing the look of satisfaction on the chefs faces, receiving compliments from customers at the farmers market or getting that unsolicited email from a purchaser raving about our cheese cannot be discounted, but there is nothing like the feeling of giving to someone in need. We may not have much but that man had nothing. I don’t know why and don’t need to know, I just know they were in need and I had the ability to give. Maybe we should focus more on the blessings we do have not what we don’t. We spend so much time envying what other have and wanting more, we forget what is important in our lives. Maybe if we prioritize our lives for what is actually important that might just motivate more of us to share our blessings with others. Imagine the impact we would see in our country if more of us adopted this practice.

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