When I was a teenager, I was so shy I couldn’t talk without stuttering. I felt completely invisible. But one teacher…one…praised aloud a piece of writing I had done in class. In that moment, I became visible. And that was enough for me to have the courage to leave home, go to a different city, and learn to write.
One instance of casually kind words set the course of my life. From that I found a husband and family and dove into a career that allowed me to write books and articles that spread out to literally thousands of people. That single pebble of praise tossed into the still pond of my awareness sent out a ripple that widened and widened. It gave me a way to toss my own pebbles into so many other ponds – for people I will probably never meet.
Mrs. Allen never knew what she had given in one generous, non-earth-shaking act.
All these years later, when I visit the Courageous Connection’s farm, I see how the staff, volunteers, and specially trained horses offer that same, simple kindness to people who are struggling with life.
In the farm’s cool arena, birds swoop and fresh air wafts throughout. Brought in from their wide pastures, the horses, Remi, Ari, Punkin, and Willow flick their ears and wait. The space is quiet but for the horses’ occasional snorts and stamps of their hooves. The people gather in a semi-circle – some anxious, some eager to reach out. After a general introduction, one by one the clients greet the beautiful creatures and then lean into their warmth. The amazingly swift connection between individual and horse affirms that each being is infinitely worthwhile. Perfectly perfect in that moment.
Who knows how that single positive moment will help mend a life and then ripple outward? A touch of kindness and hope whose effect is unseen and unknown.
Donors give on faith, knowing they will never fully see how much they have gifted by supporting a farm where the harvest is simple goodness. Volunteers see the smiles, how tense shoulders ease, how the sparks of possibility grow in the eyes of the people who come to them – people who will return to their own lives with hope.
Ripples that go on and on throughout place and time. Who would have guessed so much can be given with such small acts of kindness?
More about Susan Brown @ https://www.susanbrownwrites.com/
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