Making Someone's Day a Little Brighter

     Last week I ordered some business cards to make it easier to give people my blog address and contact information.  On the bottom of the card, I wrote the following question, "What can you do today to make someone else's day just a little bit brighter?"  In a simple way, I think it captures the essense of intentional acts of kindness.  It's about thinking of someone else and purposely doing something to make their day better.  Today I focused on that thought as I did my act of kindness.

     I have a friend who had some pretty significant dental surgery on Friday - the kind that had to be pretty painful and would surely lead to some days of discomfort in the recovery process.  Yesterday I made sure to send her a note to ask how she was doing and to let her know that I was thinking of her.  Today I decided to bring her some things to brighten her day and to stop in for a brief visit. 

     Before going to her house, I stopped and bought a nice bouquet of colorful flowers.  Then I went to Target and picked out a big and complex jigsaw puzzle as I know that she enjoys working on challenging ones.  Not that she doesn't have anything to do, but puzzles can be a fun distraction when we're laid up for a few days and are in discomfort.

     I was intending to just say a brief hello and drop off the gifts, not wanting to intrude, especially if she was hurting.  As it turned out, she was improving and she invited me in for a visit.  It was good to catch up with her as we hadn't seen each other in awhile.  It's certainly easier to stay in our own little worlds rather than reaching out to check on and/or visit friends.  When I reverse roles, though, and think of how I would appreciate someone reaching out to me, it reminds me that the effort is worthwhile and meaningful.