#15 – Random act of kindness
When I chose this prompt, I thought maybe I’d have the chance to get out of the house and do something random and nice for someone. That’s always fun.
The truth is, I try to be kind every day. I try to do nice things on a regular basis. Even things that seem small to one person may feel huge to someone else.
Thinking back, I did do something nice that day. It was a small thing, but it’s one of those small things I think are important. I’d asked a colleague to do something for me. He did it, and he did it quickly.
I thanked him, which is normal. But I didn’t just say thanks. I said something like…
Thanks so much for helping with that task at the last minute. It was a HUGE help!
I very much appreciate it.
And then I made sure I copied his supervisor on my reply. Because, in my experience, people are quick to complain about someone’s faulty job performance, but slow to mention when a person has been helpful, done something good or nice, etc.
Again, it wasn’t a huge thing that he did for me; it’s not something that took a lot of effort on his part. But it was one less thing I had to do in the short period of time remaining before an important deadline, so it was big to me. Which is why I made sure his boss knew about it, too.
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#16 – What are you thankful for today?
Bosses who not only listen when you share constructive criticism, but ACT. That’s big in my book. And I’m not talking about a small thing.
There was a process involving our international offices that I knew needed improvement. I met with company executives to get their buy-in so I could work with one international colleague in particular to make improvements. They didn’t just buy in, they said, basically, that it was a great idea, but solving the problem would be easier in person. So they paid to fly that colleague here from Spain on short notice so we could all work more-effectively together to come up with a solution.
So I was at our Charlottesville headquarters brainstorming at the end of last week. And we came up with a solution that will take a bit longer to implement, but is even better than what either of us alone would have proposed.
That’s big. Seriously.
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#17 – Simple pleasure
Driving the back roads of the Virginia Piedmont on a Spring-like February day. And seeing the delight on the face of my European colleague when he tried pulled pork BBQ for the first time.
Madrid is far more exotic a locale than Sperryville, Virginia, but they don’t make BBQ like we do in Spain. And, although he’d been to the US before, he’d always been to cities and eaten in fancier restaurants. So he truly enjoyed the more-authentic, everyday American experience. He liked the back roads, too, and even appreciated the one “oddity” I managed to squeeze in.
He even suggested and took this selfie!
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#18 – Church
I’m not a religious person. So I figured I would share a link to my favorite “church” song and share one of my favorite church photos.
Click on the image for a larger view. It really is quite a magnificent entryway, don’t you think? The website, sacred-destinations.com, has this description…
“The most exceptional feature of Bern’s Münster is the magnificent depiction of the Last Judgment over the main portal, which contains more than 200 carved wood and stone figures. Such a large collection of late-Gothic sculpture is a rare survival in Europe. The 170 smaller figures are 15th-century originals; the 47 larger freestanding statues are replicas (originals in the Bern Historical Museum).
Justice occupies the center, flanked by angels and the Wise and Foolish Virgins. Above is the Archangel Michael, with a sword and scales. The saved are on the left and the damned are on the right. Such a significant survival of religious images is rare in Protestant Switzerland, but apparently the graphic depictions of salvation and damnation appealed enough to the Reformers to spare it from destruction.”
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#19 – Reflection
Ah, reflection.
Yet another word that could have more than one interpretation.
I’ll take the easy path here and share a favorite image that includes a reflection.
I often wonder how many people see reflections like this. By that I mean not just see the reflection, but get drawn into stopping for a closer look.
I don’t seek-out reflections. (Not usually, anyway.) Reflections just jump out at me. Once a reflection catches my eye, I almost always stop for a look.
Does that happen to any of you?
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Now let’s see how many of the other participating bloggers are doing a much better job than me keeping up…
Having recently been on the receiving end of a company VP’s thank you email in which he copied the other VPs and the owner… Yes, such simple expressions of gratitude are invaluable.
How cool that you introduced your co-worker to a real American meal and back roads experience. That’s the stuff that most of us seek when travelling, but without insight of a local, it can be hard to find.
As for the religious art: It is very cool, but why’s there never a depiction of a place between somber righteousness and miserable wickedness? I simply wanna be among happy, mildly-wicked people—you know, lovers of life. Is that too much to ask? Is it wrong? 😉
And I embrace reflections in glass, use them as a way to somewhat inconspicuously observe the goings-on around me—somewhat inconspicuously until my gaze meets the reflected gaze of another doing the very same thing…
Ry,
That halfway spot is purgatory, I think. Or life here on Earth.
I never thought about making use of reflections as you suggested. Meeting the eyes of a similar “user” sounds like the basis of an interesting story.
Just a lovely post, all around! I remember from my working days how much it meant when a coworker copied my boss on a thank you or atta girl email. Good on ya!
And I love that you and your coworker came up with an excellent solution AND got out in the countryside!