Recently during an online webinar, Caroline Myss told a story that touched me deeply. Caroline has provided dynamic leadership  in the field of personal growth for decades and personally she has been a significant influence in my life.  In an urban area, a man felt distraught and unable to cope. He walked the streets debating in his mind whether to end his life with razor blades or pills. Agitated, he was reviewing his options obsessively as he came to a street corner. The cars were stopped waiting for the light. He halted, watched the traffic. There in her car a motorist looked directly into his eyes and offered him a big smile. Caroline tells listeners that this man wrote to her to report how that moment changed his life. As though awaking from a dream, the man realized he wanted to live. Loving that story,   Ms Myss framed that as a moment of Grace and wants to drive home this: We mean so much to each other. A smile can and does save someone’s life. We matter to each other and every day as we walk our path, we influence and help one another. Let’s wake up to that.

It feels so good to help someone else. I love when I can do that. and isn’t it fun to realize our smile, a greeting, or words of support might mean a great deal to someone?  Why not walk through life and take advantage of  what shows up in the parking lot, supermarket, workplace, on the street and more?

Read this story which I think I read on good news network– answering affirmatively the question Will strangers stop to help a stranger? One woman wrote in her account: In the entrance to a Whole Foods Market, this shopper receives communication on her phone that her beloved father has passed away. Shocked she starts screaming– overcome with grief she ends up on the floor of the entrance. Several strangers got down on the ground with her and held her hands. They stayed with her not only until she calmed but until one of her loved ones came to assist her. Later she posted an inquiry on Facebook wanting to identify and thank these supporters and at the time I read of this, she had not yet found them. This woman credited these “guardian angels” with “saving” her. She feels a profound and lasting gratitude for what love she can receive when she really needs it.

Chatting with Eloise I rarely see at the home of a mutual friend, Eloise informed me that she and her husband searched for my art exhibit and could not find it. Turns out she is deeply moved by the feeling quality that radiates from the paintings I create. She loves my art. Boy that unexpected appreciation felt great!

Another from good news network– in an Asian country in a busy city– a man was captured on a phone camera carrying a very elderly woman across the crowded street filled with traffic.

One day though I had already been to Whole Foods once that day, I felt an impulse to return for one more item. Close to the entrance a special on cosmetics was displayed and staffed. I felt drawn to greet the staffer and let her know how I had gotten good service from her colleague in the last few days. Before long the conversation touched on my currently hanging art show and its location, an agency whose mission is to provide counseling to low income women. Soon the two of us were brainstorming on how to fulfill that make up artist’s dream– to offer a make up workshop to poorer women who could use the skills for job searches, complete with samples for them to take home.  What a juicy conversation! Who knows what seed was planted that day! How did that happen? I returned to the store to pick up apples!

Yesterday I got quite upset about a missed appointment. Strong feelings coursed through my veins. By a wonderful “coincidence” I reached my dear friend on her cell phone driving from one job to another. She rarely looks at her phone during the day. I told her my condition and in a quick two minutes zeroed in to provide words that were helpful for shifting my perspective and providing some relief. Gosh, we matter so much to one another!

As I review these stories, I am lifted up. I am more aware of the Well Being pouring down  continuously around me. If we pay attention, we can cast light into dark places as we go through our day. We can notice how it is happening to us through us to other, through others all the time. Isn’t that cool?

I love participating in that! I bet you Readers already are. Do you want to send in an incident of what occurred around you, through you? Please send to jpearl@streamofyes.com. We carry Good for ourselves and others all the time!