On an episode of “Unsolved Mysteries” there was a story of a young boy who was the victim of the holocaust. He’d been placed in a work camp for several years and somehow had managed to survive the horror of his imprisonment until the end of the war.
The show told of the boy—now in his sixties and living in the US—and his quest to find an American GI who had imparted a kindness to him. The soldier had given the boy some food.
It might seem insignificant, but to this child, who had seen nothing but cruelty and inhumanity for as long as he could remember, it was a gesture that was a turning point in his life.
When he was liberated, he was emaciated and in poor health. He needed food. As he was walking along the road lined by American tanks, a young GI jumped down and offered him some of his rations.
The boy, even though now free, had lost hope. He expected little. With this one act of generosity, the American had re-instilled a belief that there must still be some good in the world. The boy never forgot it.
I don’t remember all the details of the story, but the boy had come to America, raised a family, been financially successful and had worked hard to repay the kindness he received with kindnesses of his own. Now, he wanted to find the man who had, in his words, saved my life.
I hope he found the young GI. I hope he’s still living. But I’d like to believe that there were so many similar acts of generosity that it would be almost impossible to know for sure who the soldier was.
You see we never know when something we say or something we do will have a profound influence on someone’s life.
It’s all too easy to think you can’t make a difference. It’s sad that most people don’t ever recognize what an important role they play. Unlike George Bailey in “It’s a Wonderful Life,” most of us never get to see how things would be if we weren’t here doing what we do.
When I speak to groups and write my articles, I’m reminded of the challenges the reader may be facing. I don’t always know when I’m working with someone what they’re going through at the time. It might be a divorce. They may have just learned that a loved one is dying of cancer. They may be afraid of losing their job. Perhaps they have no job.
I must be mindful that a thoughtless comment or playful tease might in fact be hurtful. We each have a choice: to create more light or to create more heat in the world. As Confucius put it over 2500 years ago, “It is better to light one small candle than to curse the darkness.”
As the story above so nicely illustrates, small gestures can often generate huge blessings. If we’re constantly looking for kind and thoughtful acts, we will no doubt bring more joy into the world around us as well as our own world.
I call it the Law of Reciprocity: The more you do to enhance the lives of others, the more you enhance your own being. It’s one of life’s better deals.
Robert Brault may have said it best when he wrote, “Enjoy the little things for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.
What kindness can you show today? What generous act could you perform? What kind words could you offer to someone? What good deed are you willing to invest in the world?
Do some small things today, but do them in great ways.
“Sometimes when I consider what tremendous consequences come from little things . . . I am tempted to think . . . there are no little things.”
—Bruce Barton
Best Life Truth: Nothing is Neutral. Everything you do, say, think or don’t do, moves you closer or takes you further away from your best life. Everything matters.
