There’s something magical that happens when one is in the presence of a kind soul.  Kindness can be expressed through one’s gaze, through the holding of hands, an embrace…Even silence in empathy can express it.  And sometimes, it can come in the form of the spoken word.

For the past few weeks in preparation for launching the MeYouSocial community, I ran across a moment, that today I now see as something that’s had profound effect on my life since…

It’s late November, 2009 and I’m spending this day focused on contribution and fulfilling an obligation.  I believe your word is your bond, and I had an early morning board meeting to attend at Shenandoah University School of Business, at the Institute for Entrepreneurship (I know, it’s a mouthful).  Today, I had to step up, suit up and show up for the early morning meet in Shenandoah country. Somehow, my fever-addled brain thought:“well, never mind…” fact is, I was the last one to arrive and I found myself walking in on the Dean’s opening remarks mid-speech. An embarrassing moment for me, but everyone was gracious about it.  We spent the morning reviewing the past, present and future of the entrepreneurship program at the university, contributing thoughts, ideas and whatnot for most of the morning. This was a planned objective and we completed the entire agenda.

The Gift? Well, arriving late, placed me in the last chair next to the Mirzas. An mature couple who are both doing incredible things with various non-profits and endowments that they have founded and/or are managing. In the past few years, we’ve grown close, having worked on several initiatives together.  In many ways, they are like family to me.

So I’m catching up with the Mirzas, inquiring about how several of their daughters are doing post-graduation and the question comes up as to how I’m doing. I inform them that a start-up project I was working on abruptly ended and that I was attempting to secure additional contract work or employment. Their reply: “We’re sorry to hear that. Let us know if there is any thing you need or that we can do. We love you.”

I thanked them sincerely, and then we moved on to other topics, but their offer of assistance hit me hard, and it dominated my thoughts for the rest of the day.  Not the assistance part, but those three little words: “We love you.”

These three little words hit me like a flood and caused me to look at my circumstances completely differently…

That week, I found myself second-guessing myself, wondering about the value and contribution I had left to give to the world ,and the two people I most respect in this World affirmed hundreds of questions with three simple yet heartfelt words…

The rest of the day was spent resting/recovering and being preoccupied with those three words. I did manage to make an introduction for a non-profit I advocate for, so on balance I contributed what I could for the day…

Acts of Kindness are the Gifts that Keeps on Giving.  What Acts of Kindness have you given or received in your life, that connect with who you are today?

Make today be about remembering, reflecting on these key moments in your life.  That day, I compiled a list of things and events that I believed I caused to happen through focused will and intention.   Reflecting on this list helped me reset my mind and quiet the self-doubt that was building.  Looking at this list revealed that I was creating a life not based on crisis, despair or  loss but love, abundance, flow and opportunity. I had done this before (reflecting on key moments), but I had fallen out of practice and let life’s little devil “Chance” to whipsaw me around like a friggin’ piñata.  From this new positive state, I set about a course of action.  Here’s a brief summary (minus the details):

ACTIONS
Begun creating “Key Life Moment’s List”
Set financial budged for December
Revised 2 versions of my resume – more concise and at 2-pages
Made a list of Technical Contracting Firms; began registering directly with several, as well as applied to 3 listings
Created call “Hit list” for next week; followups on job networking and job lead intros;
Acquired a few EFT scripts for health and wealth/abundance
Brief Meditation

Here’s a short, but powerful video that I believe represents the spirit of kindness.  Sometimes, a video can change one’s perspective in the most profound way – this video did for me. Namaste…