by Laura Alden Kamm: Your words and actions have authority and wisdom. Occasionally, we all experience internal vacancies and discouragement as life pushes us into ourselves.
When pressure such as this occurs, I view it as a call to action—an internal call to stay awake and spiritually connected to life and those around me. Paying attention to the energy around you, especially during harder times, is when you can stumble upon opportunity, curled up and waiting for you.
Your words or inspired actions can change someone’s day and even their life. You may feel as if you have nothing to say or nothing new to offer. Personally, you may be swimming in a sea of challenges and you simply don’t have the energy for someone else. Yet your wisdom, your act of kindness, is needed and you know it.
Inspiration is Spirit expanding within you, often when you least expect it. You have connected with someone, their energy, and subtly you feel their anguish. Momentarily, you forget your own ache, as tenderness escorts you into a place where a wakeful connection between the two of you lives. Inspirited thoughts cascade inside of you like cooling water. Your voice and acts of kindness become the voice of God, offering healing to that person’s energy, their spirit, and their woundedness.
Several years ago my children and I were dining in a restaurant in Columbus, Ohio. The young waitress’ energy was very clear to me. She was hurting even though her smile was a sweet mask. I heard Spirit clearly say, “Leave her a generous tip.” The amount I was requested to leave was subjectively significant. Admittedly, for a second or two, I selfishly questioned this Spirit-driven directive. “Can’t I just say something nice to her? After all,” I internally bantered, “I’m a single mother with, at the time, two children in college to help support.”
However, I always listen to what God puts in my heart. I know that when I inspire someone, I, too, am inspired in wondrous and mysterious ways. During our dinner, she shared with us that she was going to college and all the kids chimed in regarding how tough school is. She added that she needed a certain amount of money to pay for her school books and she didn’t know where she was going to get it. She said, “But I have faith.” Needless to say, the tip was left as directed with sincere intentions for her success.
Surprisingly, a month later I received a grateful email from this young waitress. She had tracked me down because my business’s name was on the credit card I used to pay for the meal. She wanted to thank me for my gift and, more importantly, that she and her mother had visited my website and read the material about my near-death experience. You see, this beautiful young woman had just lost her best friend and her grandmother a week before we came into the restaurant. She and her mother were all they had left and were scared about life and what other shocks might possibly be coming their way. She was trying to get through school so they could have a better life. Reading about my near-death experience gave them hope, for themselves and their loved ones who had passed on. Her email deeply touched and inspired me that day. The connection had come full circle.
When we offer words and actions provoked by Spirit, that wisdom reflects into our tender hearts as well. I ask you to open your heart to the possibility of inspiring someone everyday. A smile, a Spirit-driven compliment, or compassionate act is all it takes to make a difference in someone’s life. No matter what belief systems or spiritual preferences one embraces, kindness penetrates all boundaries.
There is nothing sweeter than experiencing the spontaneous glimpse of someone’s soul as they light up from the inside out.
With love,
Laura
