"When in Doubt, Reach Out"

"When in doubt, do it."
―  Oliver Wendell Holmes

 

Amid Fourth of July activities yesterday, I was talking with a friend from out-of-town about kindness and the decision to do a kind act or not.

She shared that her mantra is "when in doubt, reach out," which she first heard years ago.  That is what she tries to remember when she is deciding whether or not to extend a kindness.  As many of us do, she wonders sometimes whether it makes sense to reach out.  There are always a few people who may misinterpret our acts of kindness, question our motivations, or, perhaps worst of all, gossip about us for doing a kind deed.

When she is having that nanosecond-long dialogue with herself that we all frequently have, she thinks about why we are here and what we are called to do.  "The big thing," she said, "is to help each other get to heaven."

I think my friend would agree that the way to heaven is paved with kindness.