"Do Unto Others..."

   I challenge you.  Just look. Notice what is going on around you.  There are people that are blessing others in simple and beautiful ways. If you take the time to see it, you will be amazed at the people around you who are busy showing that other people matter. Notice how certain people are selflessly impacting the lives of others.  Jesus did this on many occasions.  As I continue to recover from my bout with cancer, I am striving to live a less selfish life and to find ways to use my "post-cancer self" to increase the joy and value of living for other people.  There are so many who spread the love and their actions take so many different forms.  Here is what I have noticed just in the last 24 hours:

• I used to live across the street from Tom.  I have not seen him nor heard from him in probably 20 years.  He sent me a message on Facebook just to encourage me to heal and to stay strong.
• My son's soccer coach took the time before the game last night to ask how I was doing and to remind me that he and the whole staff at his school have been watching my progress and praying for me.
• One of the aides here at school told me today of how her family has taken in a young woman to live with them for her last year of high school. Her family life was non-existent due to divorce and drugs.  This girl is on schedule to graduate with honors and is looking forward to being the first person in her family to go to college.
• My son had an easy goal-scoring opportunity in front of him in last night's game.  Instead of shooting, he passed it to a teammate who had not scored at all during the year and in cold truth is a horrible soccer player.  The kid scored and all we could hear was his laughter as he celebrated his first-ever soccer goal.  The rest of the team was thrilled too, even though they were winning easily at the time (final score: 13-1). My son just smiled.
• One of my son's teachers who was sitting with me at the game witnessed this assist-and-goal combo and said to me, "Your son plays soccer like he lives life."  Then I just smiled.
• While working on a math assignment, I witnessed a student take the time to explain how to do one of the problems to another who was having a difficult time understanding.  The assistance was offered without my prompting.
• I heard on the radio that at a local Starbucks, someone started a "pay it forward" chain, asking the cashier at the window how much the bill of the person behind them was and then paying for it.  The Starbucks cashier reported that 31 people in a row chose to bless the folks behind them.  (I can only hope that Person #32 accidentally left his wallet at home.)  
• One of my eighth-grade boys fist-bumped a kindergartener today for no apparent reason.  After my student was out of earshot, I heard the little boy's friend ask him, "Who was that?" The kindergartener said, "I don't know, but he's my friend."

   Simple, and that was just what I saw in 24 hours.  All of it is so simple.  Notice someone.  Compliment someone.  Help someone.  Achieve with someone.  Encourage someone.  Love someone.  Get out of the way so someone else can shine.  St. Francis of Assisi (1181-1225) once said, "Preach the gospel at all times and if necessary, use words." While he probably said this in some form of old renaissance Italian and while the translation may have been altered a bit over the years, the message rings true today.  Take the challenge.  Give it a try.  It ain't hard.  Make it a habit.

"You are the light of the world.  A city on a hill cannot be hidden.  

Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.  

Instead they put it on a stand and it gives light to everyone in the house.  

In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds 

and praise your Father in heaven" -- Jesus (Matthew 5:14-16)