Sunday, March 2, 2014

Forgetting Kindnesses Shared

"Blessed are those who give without remembering and take without forgetting."
― Elizabeth Bibesco

Yesterday, I spent two hours in the company of a wise and wonderful 80-year-old woman.  She is the owner of a violin shop and we had gone to purchase a couple of violins.  She has always impressed me as a kind-hearted and generous woman.  Not only does she come across that way in terms of how she conducts her business, but also she seems to have a special way of connecting with people.  I have heard her share snippets of her life when she thinks that the listener would benefit from hearing them.

While we were at the shop yesterday, a woman walked in with a beautiful flower arrangement for her.  "Thank you for your kindness," the woman told the shop owner.  "You were so kind..."

When the woman left, the violin shop owner chuckled and said, "I don't remember what I did."

That is the way it seems to be with some of the kindest people.  They are the way they are and can't imagine being any other way.  And often, they forget the kindnesses they do even as their kindnesses live on in the hearts of those whose lives they have touched.

But lest I get the wrong idea, the violin shop owner looked at me with a twinkle in her eye and said:  "You never want to be too good -- you miss the fun in life."

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