She stood in line quietly crying, holding onto a metal sign to steady herself. I’d just arrived at the airport gate, ready to catch my flight back to Billings. As I waited for my zone to be called, I noticed her wiping the tears from her cheeks. She was a complete stranger, so I…(Read More)
This true story from an airline pilot about a fallen soldier’s journey home illustrates a the importance of always being alert to opportunities to show kindness to other people. Here is what the pilot wrote. My lead flight attendant came to me and said, “We have a fallen soldier on this flight.” “Is there…(Read More)
My first job out of law school was to clerk for a federal judge. He served on appellate courts around the country, so we often traveled together. One week I left early so I could attend a Christian Legal Society Conference in Chicago before flying on to join the Judge in Washington, D.C. The…(Read More)
When he was two-and-half-years-old, my grandson, Andrew, came across a fresh pile of dog poo in the yard. Having been told repeatedly to stay away from dog piles, he of course felt an irresistible desire to step on it and squish it around. Not liking the odor, he walked across the…(Read More)
Last week a young McDonald’s fast-food worker named Kenny provided a magnificent example of compassion. His selfless act was described by Destiny Carreno, whose report has been viewed over 2.3 million times on Facebook and other social media. Here is what she wrote: Seeing this today brought tears to my eyes! Compassion…(Read More)
When was the last time you did something that was so amazingly kind that others will remember your actions the rest of their lives? If it’s been awhile, I encourage you to take two minutes to watch a video clip of some young men who refused to play basketball against another team … as an…(Read More)
Fear usually triggers one of three reactions: control, anger or withdrawal (the latter two actually being forms of the first). This is a key insight for improving both your self-awareness and your other-awareness: whenever you encounter control, anger, or withdrawal, it is usually a sign of fear, either in yourself or others. Once…(Read More)
Before I became a lawyer, I worked as an engineer on a team that designed hemodialysis machines. While talking with patients going through dialysis, I learned how hard it is to live without a kidney. Therefore, when I heard about a taxi driver who gave his kidney to a passenger because “God thought it was…(Read More)
Would you like to change the world around you? Then make it a habit to do three acts of kindness every day. Do it consistently for a year, and you’ll bless those around you with 1,000 acts of kindness. Since kindness is contagious, many of the people you touch may turn around and…(Read More)
My daughter was sitting on the floor in my study crying softly. Megan had been sharing a sad story with me, and her emotions overflowed in tears. Her two-year-old son, Andrew, was playing in his room nearby. When he heard his mother crying, he pulled some tissues from a Kleenex box, walked into…(Read More)
One night in the early years of our marriage, Corlette and I had such an intense disagreement that we went to bed unreconciled. Yes, we ignored the wisdom principle to not let the sun go down on our anger. As we lay there facing away from each other, a bizarre contest developed. Without either one…(Read More)
Network news bombards us daily with so many reports of immorality, corruption, and violence that it’s easy to become discouraged about the condition and direction of our world. But I’m convinced that for every negative report the networks broadcast, there are thousands of acts of kindness quietly occurring elsewhere in the world … some…(Read More)
Children often demonstrate far more relational wisdom than adults. Simply compare the bullying scandal in the Miami Dolphins locker room with the remarkable sensitivity shown to a learning-disabled teen by the Olivet Eagles, a middle school football team from Olivet, Michigan. Watch this short clip, and these kids will show you how dying to…(Read More)
She stood in line quietly crying, holding onto a metal sign to steady herself. I’d just arrived at the airport gate, ready to catch my flight back to Billings yesterday. As I waited for my zone to be called, I noticed her wiping the tears from her cheeks. She was a complete stranger, so…(Read More)