Sowing random acts of kindness

One of the pleasures of being a regular church goer is the way in which many services, aside from the ecumenical focus, follow a seasonal pattern, and how relevant this can be to our daily lives.

Early in January, during the week after Epiphany, 6^th January, many churches choose to hold ‘Plough Sunday’ services. It was thus that I found myself attending the combined service held at St. Peter’s Church in Horton recently. As one might expect, the focus was on the important part that farming plays, particularly in the rural communities that make such a large contribution towards Somerset’s economy.

What struck me most about the ‘talk’ we received during the ‘Plough Sunday’ service, was a quote by an unnamed source, ‘Real treasure comes as a result of the hard work of ploughing and sowing the land’.

It follows that if we do not take care of the land that we depend on to produce the food that sustains us, then we suffer the consequences of our negligence. As more and more of us choose to shop in large supermarkets we become further removed from the route that our food takes from farm to fork.

Taken a step further, in the context of how each of us go about our daily lives, I have for some[LV1] [LV2]  years subscribed to the point of view that if I make a concerted effort to work on behalf of others then both I and the recipients will benefit from my actions. I have amassed a great deal of evidence in support of this ethos, but freely admit that on occasion it can be difficult to achieve, especially when faced with the less than well intentioned actions of others. I am certainly no angel, and on occasion I know that I have behaved disgracefully in the past, but through my faith I feel that I have learnt sufficiently to know that if I consciously work for the greater good of others, then the benefits both for myself and those on the receiving end are limitless.

We all get that ‘feel good’ feeling when we do something nice for someone else, and very often it is reciprocated, resulting in a ‘win/win’ situation for both. In making others feel better, valued and important to us, we reinforce their own sense of self-worth, giving them the tools and impetus to continue the cycle. The importance of this domino effect cannot be underestimated; attempting to influence the outcome of an event through underhand means all too often results in negative outcomes; where we seek to do harm to those who have harmed us in some way perpetuates a cycle of destruction. Our newspapers are littered with such stories.

That is not to say, however, that we must accept the destructive behaviour of others, either from individuals, groups or corporate bodies. What I have found though, is that if I can control my own behaviour and be comfortable with the reasons behind my actions, then in almost every case the right result will be achieved.

I notice that there is a National Kindness Day planned to commemorate the 20^th anniversary of Princess Diana’s death in March. She is quoted as having said, ‘Carry out a random act of kindness with no expectation of reward, safe in the knowledge that one day someone might do the same for you.’

In other words, to return to my original analogy, and well-known proverb ‘As you sow, so shall you reap’. Something as simple as a kind word can have surprising results.