Goodness Begets Goodness

A new year. What will it bring? What will we bring to it? We want it to bring peace, love, joy, success, and all kinds of blessings. But if we just sit back and wait for good things to happen, we are going to be disappointed.

We have to extend ourselves to make these things happen. If we want to experience peace in our relationships, we have to be the first to forgive and seek reconciliation. If we want to be loved, we have to reach out in friendship and appreciation. If we want to have joy, we have to extend ourselves to those who may be grieving, poor, sick, or alienated. If we want to be successful, we have to work hard to achieve results not just stay in our comfort zone.

When I watched the CNN Heroes Special recently, I was struck by the generosity of these honorees who reached out to others.They did so many amazing things like building tiny houses for homeless veterans, making beds for children who had to sleep on the floor, providing therapy and classes to help women trapped in human trafficking, getting businesses to contribute leftover food to charities that feed the poor instead of throwing it away, teachiing computer skills to girls in Lagos, Nigeria, so they can get jobs in technology, and providing housing and food to families of sick childdren in Lima, Peru. There was even a young boy who began making sandwiches for the hungry and distributing them in his wagon. These are just a few examples of people who have found joy in making others' lives better.

Many of these heroes started these programs on their own and others began joining them. Their good work attracted other people who wanted to be a part of that service. These heroes were bold enough to initiate programs that grew beyond their wildest imaginations. Goodness begets more goodness.