High on Happiness

Posts Tagged ‘Encouragement’

“What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity. They are but trifles, to be sure but, scattered along life’s pathway, the good they do is inconceivable.” ~Anonymous

You never know what your one, small act of kindness can do.  A smile, given from the heart, can turn a life around.  A word of encouragement, a touch, a small, thoughtful gesture can make all the difference in someone’s day.

In an indifferent world where we are often little more than cardboard cutouts to each other, bit players in a crowd, kindness rescues us from our anonymity and loneliness.  It connects us to each other and makes us real.

Kindness says, “I see you. I respect you. I acknowledge you.”  It tells the other that you are humans together, with similar trials and cares.  It says, “You matter. I have time for you. Let me listen.  Let me help.”

Kindness is a joy-flower that strengthens the spirit and refreshes the soul of giver and receiver alike.  It’s soft as feathers and bright as the sun, and happiness is its perfume.

For no other reason than an affinity of spirit, they’re drawn to us, hearts and hands open, wanting nothing but to walk a stretch of the journey by our sides.  And yet, what riches they bring: Comfort, encouragement, understanding, a belief in our worth.

You would think that was enough.  But it goes on.  Friends pull laughter from their pockets and long strands of honesty from their sleeves.  They have mirrors in their bags that reflect our worlds from whole new perspectives.  They keep our secrets under their hats and carry handkerchiefs scented with pardon.

Friends sit by our sides when we’re hurting and fly streamers when we’re glad.  They sing our successes and think our failures are nothing at all.  They share their bread and stories.  They find flashlights in the dark.  They’re not afraid to walk with us through the hard and scary places, and even if they are, they walk with us anyway.

All this, for no other reason than an affinity of spirit.  Makes you think that the guy who wrote this play must have had a big heart of his own.

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Walk lightly in the world.  You write your tracks on hearts, you know, everywhere you go.  And hearts are tender.

Hearts are tender and the world can be cold.  Even the most dazzling life is sometimes streaked with shadow.

Let the impressions you make, then, be those of gladness, encouragement, and healing.  Leave some gentle laughter in your wake, a draft of comfort.

You never know when one small smile or single word of kindness will make all the difference.

Walk lightly.

When it comes to adding some light to your days, few things have the power of a pal.  You know, the kind who has spent a heap of days with you, seen you in all your moods and loves you anyway.

Pals know the real of you, beyond all the faces you wear.  They know when to move in close, to hold you up, to speak hard truths.

They know when to give you room. They back you with their faith and trust when you step out in new directions.

Pals bathe you in their laughter, delight in your stories, applaud your triumphs, and celebrate your moments of joy.

And they’re there for you in the hard times, too, their words full of encouragement, their hearts full of understanding.  They remind you of your strengths and slip you little handfuls of courage to get you through.

They dust you off when you fall, and laugh with you while you sort out your lessons, and never stop cheering for you, no matter what.

What greater ease, what more joyous comfort does life offer?  Whatever the fates may bring, when you’re blessed with a worthy companion, you’re blessed indeed.

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When the world is painted in browns and grays, be the touch of red that gives it color.  When silence fills the forest, be its song.

Fling your radiance into the gloom.  Be the dazzle.  Be the light.  Unfurl your shine.

Be the word of encouragement, the voice of optimism, the touch of kindness that makes smooth the tangled path.

Be the laughter that dissolves the dullness, the sparkle that reawakens joy.  Be the difference that changes things.

Send your confident music out into the void.  Bring the sun back.  Open the sky.

Be the song.

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That smile, that smile of yours – Have you any idea?  Do you know it’s like the voice of the Divine speaking to my heart just to see it?  Do you know its power?

Do you know it rides through my eyes and slides through my brain and changes everything?  Do you know how it lifts and opens me?

Do you know that it sends hope flashing across my neurons, and makes possibilities dance in all my spaces?  Do you know the peace it brings me?  The relief?

When you smile at me, I’m more real somehow.  The world’s more real.  I count for something in its light.  I’m connected.  I’m forgiven.  I belong.

Oh, bring on that smile of yours, baby.  Pour it, bright and beaming, all over my day.  Let your sun shine, darlin’; let it shine.

Happiness sings its purest song when it flows between two hearts.  In essence, after all, happiness is the song of love.

And of all the beautiful forms it takes—romantic love, parental love, spiritual love—one of its most joyous forms is the happiness of friendship.

As friendship, it dances between the hearts of lovers and those of parent and child.  It plays its song between siblings, relatives, neighbors and coworkers, between humans and their furred and feathered friends.

The notes of friendship are notes of kindness and consideration, of appreciation, respect, delight, patience and joy.  It rests in trust and positive regard.  It overlooks flaws or finds them endearing.  It forgives errors as easily as it breathes.   It’s given with such ease.  And grounded in shared time and communication, it takes on qualities of endurance and strength that can span a lifetime and transcend long silences and spaces.

Friendship bonds us and teaches us true empathy and affection.  It warms and supports us.  It comforts and encourages.  It holds up a mirror that lets us see our own lovableness and assures us that we are not alone.

Friendship is a touch of heaven on earth, one of life’s most precious gifts.  As rough as the road may, from time to time, be, at least we have fine companions with which to share it.  Isn’t that beautiful and grand!