01 December 2011

the power of being nice

Some people think the only way to be happy in life is to be domineering, imperious, and annoying. Stepping on people, being backstabbing, and manipulating people is a way to get things done, sort of. But there are other ways to be happy. Like being nice. Being nice is not only good because it makes you feel good, but because you're making someone else feel special too.
Remember a few days ago - maybe it was a week ago - when I got a letter back from that solider in Afghanistan? Well I emailed the teacher at school, because it's her son. Mostly I did it because in the letter, he said that if I see her in the hallways at school, just to let her know that he is doing alright. And if a soldier fighting for my safety and the safety of other people in America and Afghanistan is asking me to do something, nothing will keep me from doing it. So I emailed her, because I've never had her before and she doesn't know me at all. It would be an awkward encounter, I could envision it now, if I waltzed in and randomly started talking about it to her in person. Email is good.
So I got a reply this morning when I went to the computers in the classroom and she said that my email "made her day". And I smiled and felt warm and fuzzy inside. Everyone probably wondered why I was sitting on the chair beaming at the computer, but that's cool. She said the holidays can be really hard without him there, but that she's happy that there are people who really do appreciate what he and thousands of other men and women are doing abroad to serve the country.
And I made someone's day. How special is that, to know that you made an impact in someone else's life and that they really appreciated it? It makes you feel more wanted and less lonely. The power of niceness!

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