-------------
Was sitting by the window watching the activity out on
the street. An elderly woman was berating a child. I could see from the
kid's face that she was hurt bad by the mean words heaped on her. Gosh,
why can't the woman be more kinder to the child?! That image stuck to
my mind long after they had passed my view. Peculiarly, thoughts came
streaming down my mind but this one stood out the most, written some
years ago.......
.
""I was reading the book 'Chicken Soup...' (Jack Canfield & Mark Victor Hansen) and this got my attention. Beautiful lines, I must say. Allow me to quote......
.
..."It's the action, not the fruit of the action, that's important. You
have to do the right thing. It may not be in your power, may not be in
your time, that there'll be any fruit. But that doesn't mean you stop
doing the right thing. You may never know what results come from your
action. But if you do nothing, there will be no result." ---- Gandhi
.
The quote wrapped up a beautiful article with this title --- 'PRACTICE
RANDOM KINDNESS AND SENSELESS ACTS OF BEAUTY'. (by Adair Lara) I suggest
that you include this in your list of must-read books. It's a gem.
.
Random kindness could be a warm smile given the cashier behind the
counter.... helping pick up groceries that dropped to the floor from an
old lady's shopping cart..... offer up a snack to the cable guy who
comes over to fix your cable lines under the relentless hot summer
sun.... and many more we can do for people and also to our four-legged
friends.
.
Let me tell you this story.......
.
I was at
a department store and was finished with my shopping as I lined up for
my turn at the cashier. I noticed that the cashier seemed weary and
tense and bit her lip at some points in every transaction. 'Must be
having a hard day.' I thought to myself. But every time she pursed her
lip a dimple surfaced at the corners of her mouth. Pretty but it was an
on-and-off show. Then my turn came and I paid for my items. While she
was making change I remarked smilingly ...
.
'That's a pretty dimple you have there, young lady. You remind me of my mom when she smiles."
.
She looked at me apparently surprised but only for a minute. Because
out burst forth one of the prettiest smiles I have ever seen in that
store that afternoon! 
😊
🌹
👍""
---------------- .
This morning went out for my usual early morning walk. As I was
rounding the block and aiming for the hill... the rains came tumbling
down! Ohhh.. there goes my early morning walk, I thought as I
soft-jogged my way back to the house. And just when I was already in my
house dress Mr. Sun came bursting out from behind the gray clouds
shining brilliantly like he was enjoying the big joke he threw at me
just a few minutes ago! Oh well.. !!
Yesterday's .morning walk
was such a delight though. You would probably be thinking that walking
these same roads, neighborhood, and hill repeatedly for so long now
would have exhausted everything there was to see.
Maybe... or maybe not.
Things may look the same but not really.
Movement, Change, Birth. Growth. Decline.
Of such are the things of the earth and of life.
If you do not pay close attention, you will certainly miss its beauty,
wonder, joy..... or miss to be awesomely amazed by it all.
Like this plant I saw up the hill.... a huge leaf standing tall and erect with
its glistening young green color seemed to greet me with a huge "Hi
five!!". And I hi-5'd back at it, grinning. Buti na lang walang tao sa
kalye! 
:-D (Luckily there was nobody around that time of day!)
Not far from it stood this gorgeous flower ...once a shy tiny bud now
proudly showing off its dazzling brilliant color in full bloom. Movement
and change. It lends fresh color to the world.
Farther up
ahead, I saw (again) this cluster of huge mushrooms (remember my post
several months ago on the same mushrooms as large as my shoe?) ...but
this time several have grown black in color (decline)... as new fresh
ones sprouted nearby (birth).
Round the corner up ahead bloomed Birds of Paradise (thanks IC Guerrero
for the name) standing proudly in a cluster, too, on the shoulder of
the road. Birds of the same feather flock together, aye!? Just like
humans do.
Then a handsome dog caught my eye as I continued up
the hill. It appeared shut out of his human's home as he stood
patiently waiting outside the gate hoping that somebody would open it
and let him in. Just a thought here, if you can't take good care of your
pets... don't get one. Don't even think about owning one. Because
having a pet in your home is having another member added to your family.
Be responsible for it. Love it like you would your child. My family has
four dogs and eight cats. By the way, the word dog spelled backwards is
God. It's just a reminder that nothing in God's creation is
insignificant. Everything is .. for a reason. That means animals, too.
As I forced myself to walk past it (with a heavy heart), I came upon a
middle-aged lady who was sweeping that part of the street fronting her
house. When she saw me approaching she smiled a pleasant "Good morning!"
That took the gloom out of my heart as I smiled back at her and moved
on bouncing happily in my steps. Be generous with smiles; it can do
wonderful things.
Walking downhill I saw a friendly neighbor
who had a small bonfire going by the side of the road and under his fruits
trees (several more I could see in his yard). I stopped to say hello.
With a wide grin he said "Di ka talaga pumapalya noh?!" (You don't
really miss your morning walks aye?!) I smiled even more with "Pwera
lang kung umulan." (Except when it rains.) Stayed a few minutes more to
admire his fruit trees now bearing fruits to which he said I was
welcome to it anytime I wished so. Friends are the true treasures of a
neighborhood, a community, a town or city, a country or of the world.
They add to the spice of life and living with their own individual brand
of uniqueness and with their blessed contribution to humanity.
As
I neared my block and was just a few houses away from home ... I
noticed the lush greenery outside a neighbor's gate. But these two
particular bushes ... each different from the other in color and
shape.... and yet sharing the same air, soil, and space stood side by
side. Together. Happily. Humans can learn something from that.
There is beauty in diversity.
Have a lovely day and week. God bless you!
