What Goes Around ...

"And above all, watch with glittering eyes 

the whole world around you because the

greatest secrets are always hidden in the

most unlikely places."

Roald Dahl

Story

Feeling isolated in her house, the young woman wandered outside.  The sun was not out to take the chill from her bones and mud from the rains covered where the grass once grew.  Totally bored, she noticed a  red cocoa cola carton smashed against her neighbor's fence.  She delicately stepped over the fence and began to fill the carton with other yard waste.  She returned to her home with her neighbor's debris feeling a slight sense of accomplishment.

The elderly woman in the window watched the neighbor who crept into her yard  to gather debris.  She was moved by this small act of kindness and whipped up a batch of her favorite brownies.  After they cooled, she bundled up and went outside, determined to reward her neighbor. She was interrupted, however, by the children playing in the snow.  So adorable with vibrant energy, these children pulled at her heartstrings.  Immediately, she changed course and gave the children the brownies.

That night, as the children gathered around the dinner table, they told the story about the brownies.  The mother turned to the father saying, "We really need to be more aware of our neighbor."  The father was distracted watching the heavy snow falling outside the window.  Excusing himself, he bundled up and shoveled the snow from his walkway.   Then he remembered his wife's wisdom about being nice to a neighbor.  So he did a good deed by shoveling the walkway of the young woman who had gathered the debris.

Moral of the Story:
We are not always recognized for our good deeds nor are our good intentions always perfectly executed.  There is truth, however, in the saying, "What goes around, comes around."  We may not receive returned kindness in the way we imagined nor is it necessarily given by the person we expected.  In the story above, we can follow the links as kindness interacts with others in a flow.  We need to continue to keep the flow of kindness moving forward without being aware of who is watching or how we shall be rewarded.