joyful2beeblogs

Growing up in a loving family, I was taught good manners, kindness, honesty, and love for other people, (regardless of race, gender, nationality, skin color, religion, or customs.) I say, “Please,” “Thank you,” “Excuse me,” and other appropriate phrases, because it is good manners. I open doors for people who are elderly or disabled; mothers with strollers, a load of groceries in their arms, and even helped an elderly gentleman lift a crate of bottled water from the grocery store scooter into the back of his car.

It felt good to help. It broadened the feeling that I was showing kindness and genuine concern for their well-being. Having been a nurse for thirty-seven years, I also naturally offer to help or provide support, if someone needs to talk about a physical problem or need moral support.

A year and a half ago, I started walking with a cane because I had a hip prosthesis replace my hip and some of the long bone of the femur (hip bone). People held doors open for me, which was very kind and helpful. I felt they were concerned for my safety. My neighbors and some people even lifted heavy things for me. My sons and their wives took good care of me. They took care of things I was unable to do for the first five or six days, until my mobility and strength got better. I felt very loved and cared for and appreciated everything they did for me. One thing a lot of nurses may not have experienced, is being on the receiving end of kindness or help from others, who are strangers or even family.

Several weeks ago, my best friend, her sister and I went to a rock concert at a nearby venue. I use a cane when I know I will be walking a lot or for a long distance. We were seated half way up the hill beside a middle concrete walkway. The walkway leads down to the seated area, under a roof, in front of the stage. My friend and I were walking down the walkway to use the bathrooms. I used the rail down the middle of the walkway. At the bottom of the hill at a 90 degree angle there was another concrete path that goes across the back of the seated area.

I was holding on to the rail with my left hand and using the cane in my right hand to walk safely down the steps. When I came to the perpendicular walkway, a young man in his mid twenties was standing there, and offered his right, bent elbow for me to use for stability. I never met him before but he was so genuinely kind and happy to help, and seemed to want to ensure that I would be safe. I was blown away! I had helped a lot of people I didn’t know. But I never needed the help of someone I didn’t know. I could not say “no thank you,” to this smiling, kind, young gentleman.

I am a 73 year old woman; my hair was wet from sweating in the heat, I was a little tired from walking from the car to the hill. I know I didn’t exactly look like a beauty queen. Yet this kind, handsome, young man, wanted to be sure I made it to my destination. He was genuinely, polite, kind, and just a real gentleman! I thanked him profusely. I even offered to give him a quick hug, which he accepted graciously.

It felt so good to have someone, who didn’t even know me, want to help me be safe. Then, later, I realized that he had given me a gift. As the person who usually does nice things to help others, I never thought about how it might feel to be the recipient of a stranger’s kindness or helpful behavior. Then, I realized that I had been hit by the “boomerang” of kindness. It came back to me; just like the kindnesses other people had done for others, eventually, they get a boomerang of kindness.

A boomerang is an Australian aboriginal weapon for hunting, to ward off birds of prey or use for leisure or recreation, (among other uses). The boomerang, is a curved, flat, thin piece of wood. If thrown properly, it will return to the person who threw it.

All of the kindnesses or help I have happily given others had come back to me. I was being shown, how others may have felt about me, when I helped them. I have always enjoyed helping others as a nurse and as a person. I never stopped to think of the joy, amazement, disbelief or gratitude that those whom I had helped, may have hopefully felt about me. Now I know what, at least some of them, may have felt: “Lovingly cared for.”