Important Reminders

As I was watching some show I’d recorded on my DVR, two advertisements came on back to back by Values.com: the Foundation for a Better Life. The first commercial involved an African American marital couple (or this was my assumption with their familiarity with each other). The man and woman were both behind separate doors in a hallway with a set of stairs.

The couple was slamming their respective door back and forth as they argued. It all stopped when the man admitted he was wrong, the couple hugged each other as they walked back to her room. (The woman agreed he was wrong too as they walked back.) As the commercial ends, you see these words “Forgiveness: Pass It On.” What a great message.

How many things in our lives would be much better if forgiveness were generous part of it? I’ve often heard that giving absolution to someone does not correct the wrong they have done, but it frees the one who was done wrong to live their life freely and fully.

Have you noticed how better you feel when you’ve been exonerated for the mistake you performed? Why not allow someone else to have that same joy by giving the same gift you may have received?

The second commercial dealt with a school bus full of children. Playing in the background was chorus of Wynonna Judd’s What the World Needs. The bus driver looks at the boy in the front seat and says, “You know what to do.” With a blue cloth bag, the boy (maybe twelve years-old) walks down the middle aisle of the bus collecting can goods. The next frame shows him passing them off to a smiling woman (in her forties) behind a white door. At the conclusion of this commercial, you see the words “Generosity: Pass It On.” What a needed message.

Generosity (or kindness) doesn’t have to only be related to physical objects. One can also be generous with their time, which in many cases has a monetary value to many people. When you do this for those around you, love is demonstrated and spoken.

When you give to someone without thought of repayment (or any type of gratitude), it’s very thrilling feeling. To know that you have changed someone’s life for the better is something you will never forget. Trust me on this.

Forgiveness and generosity are two values every human being on the planet Earth should practice regularly in their lives. Besides leaving you with great self esteem, they help to remind us that others exist in this world. We are all connected, and it’s about time we demonstrate this with our actions.