"Me! Me! Me!" cried one of my younger children one day, "I just want to shout me!" I chuckled. It was a wonderful reminder of personal celebration, and the universal need for validation. At the same time, we are all painfully aware that this refrain is caustic if it is a constant worldview in an older child or adult. Becoming a person of substance and healing means looking outside ourselves and outward as we observe and meet others' needs.
I marveled at a recent youth service event, as the young men and young women joyfully and willingly helped others in their neighborhood by weeding, planting, and beautifying yards. I watched as they cheerfully reached out to others with brownies and smiles. The energy they brought back after working was almost tangible. One youth said to me, "Hey if you need help with your yard, I can help you," and another youth you overheard him, piped up, "I can help too!" I realized they wanted more. More opportunity. More of that feeling. I wish I could express how beautiful this simple exchange was to me.
The peaceful and joyful simplicity returned earlier this week, as I came in the door and stood in my kitchen. "I love this," I said out loud, "Where is this coming from?" One child was cooking dinner on the stove and another child was chopping meat for the pot. They prepared a gluten-free version for me on the side that I could take with me as I was headed out the door shortly. Again, I felt this joy in the simplicity of simple giving in a family - that of feeding each other and taking care of each other.
I'm reminded that small and simple acts and words make all the difference and can be done so easily. A smile, a kind word, a willing hand, encouragement, sharing and praise are so simple to give and literally change the planet a kindness at a time.
Looking outward is a critical skill in a self-absorbed culture. If the world will not drown in its self-reflection in the narcissistic, and stagnant pool, it will be because the rising generation earnestly seeks to make the world a better place. And my observation after watching them is there is great hope for the planet.
