Everyday, be kind to a stranger

Everyday, be kind to a stranger: On his deathbed, a man reflected on his entire life's learning and then summed it up in seven simple words: "Let us be kinder to one another". All too often, we believe that in order to live a truly fulfilling life we must achieve some great act or grand feat that will put us on the front covers of magazines and newspapers. Nothing could be further from the truth. A meaningful life is made up of a series of daily acts of decency and kindness, which, ironically, add up to something truly great over the course of a lifetime. Everyone who enters your life has a lesson to teach and a story to tell. Every person you pass during your days offers you an opportunity to show a little more of the compassion and courtesy that define your humanity.Why not start being more of the person you truly are during your days and doing what you can to enrich the world around you? In my mind, if you  make even one person smile during your day or brighten the mood of even one stranger, your day has been a worthwhile one. Kindness, quite simply, is the rent we must pay for the space we occupy on this planet. Become more creative in the ways you show compassion to strangers. Paying for the person who has lost money, offering your seat on the bus or train to someone in need and being the first to say hello are great places to start. Whenever you deal with a person who is poor or downtrodden, always remember that he is also a husband or father or brother of someone and he is 'their' world. Always treat that 'person' the way 'you' would like to be treated by others.