We need MORE of this!
Let’s set aside insurance today and go a different direction. I hope you’ll agree it’s a great diversion!
So I’m getting some needed rest over the weekend. I have greatly decreased my time this year surfing social media sites. I concentrate on learning in my free & restful time and enjoy it. But on this occasion, I decided to peek at Twitter because there is so much news about it these days. Within 5 minutes, I understood why I needed to spend the time on TWITTER.
Kevin Cate is a media person. I don’t remember FOLLOWING him and had to look up who he is. I discovered in his profile that he produces “TV ads, films, & other things watched by millions.”
Kevin posted a TWEET on Saturday, July 9th. As I write this less than 48 hours later, it has been read by over 13 million people. It has been shared by 12,000+ and loved by over 64,000+. I’m one of them.
Here is the TWEET:
WOW! How simple but effective is what this man is doing? Whether the contribution is small or large, a gift to those in need can make a MAJOR difference in their day and beyond.
There have been more than 900 responses to the TWEET as I write this. What follows is a very small sampling. I’ve read them all and felt such joy and encouragement from them. I think you will agree, they are inspiring and amazing. (unedited)
- I was getting tires put on my car and while I was waiting talked a lady who had towed her car and was trying to get a used tire, but they didn’t have it. I bought her two new ones so she wouldn’t have to tow somewhere else. The shop put my tires on for free! It’s spreads!
- A guy I know says “Tip your breakfast waitress generously. Nobody gets up at 4am to be on their feet for 8 hrs in a restaurant because it’s fun”. There are a LOT of working poor in America- just look at the cars out back. Take what you should tip, then double it.
- I do not have a lot of money so I try to be pleasant to everyone I encounter during the day. Be they rich, attractive, poor, homeless or ostracized. Just a little common courtesy can change someone’s outlook….and it is absolutely free. Marginal people need kindness too.
- My father was known for being willing to hire “bums” as my step mother called them. He would pay them a days wage, have them clean up the shop, clean the tools, anything to give them a day of work. For holidays we would have homeless at our table, always. I support those in need.
- I was really struggling as a single mom hadn’t eaten anything in 3 days ended up passing out at work from hunger just shook it off with my coworkers. The homeless guy who worked in the warehouse must have caught on. He was living at the shelter. He started bringing me sandwiches.
- Just two nights ago my nephew asked me what I would do if I won the lottery and had lots of money. I told him I would first put billboards up all across the country that said simply: Love Thy Neighbor.
- I donated a new car to a mother struggling to make ends meet. My best friend owns a repair shop. I paid him to have her 15-year-old clunker a/c fixed. My wife agreed with me, so we gave her the new car.
- One of the best people I know carries grocery gift cards to give anyone who looks like they could use one. She talks to, and often prays with, people she sees struggling. Might just be a “have a good day sir” or “are you okay today?” And I know, her prayers work.
- We keep a stash of gift cards for food/cvs in our car and hand those out when we see people on the street . Worked for a charity org and that is what the recommended. Folks can get a hot meal, coffee or an aspirin
- I lived in NYC for a year when I was 19. There was a homeless woman who sat outside my coffee shop every day. Each morning, when I bought myself a coffee, I got her a hot chocolate (she wasn’t a fan of coffee). We chatted for a minute or so. She made my morning.
- We need more of this & more of what I’ve seen in comments this thread. Over the years I’ve done things to help, one that sticks is buying a hot full meal for a homeless man on a cold night & he cried because it was fresh, hot and his. I should do more. This is a good reminder.
The comments on Kevin’s initial post have been overwhelming. What it has revealed to me is WE ARE ALL IN SUCH NEED of KINDNESS and have a NEED to help others. I personally try to do this daily, but this makes me want to do more to show patience, kindness, grace, and understanding and pay more attention to those in need during these times when I think we are, sadly, at an all-time low.
If you are on Twitter and would like to follow along, here is the link to the post that appears to be growing quickly by the hour! https://twitter.com/KevinCate/status/1545898089130639362 May it bring joy to your day like it has to me.
We’ll talk about insurance in another post later. For now, enjoy your day, show some kindness to those you know and don’t know and “Love Everybody!”
