A Generous Act!

I am always amazed and heartened when I hear about genuine acts of kindness. We can all appreciate how difficult life can be, especially in these days of economic hardships. Consequently, we think it's often impossible to actually do some good for others, but yesterday while watching the morning news, I heard a story that just made my year... um, wait, it's only January 3rd, so okay, it made my year... so far!  

To summarize, an entertainment attorney in Los Angeles "announced he was moving back home [to his mother's house], because he was giving up his own fully furnished L.A. home, rent free, for a full year -- to a family he'd never even met."  From all reports that I located about the story, this 51-year old lawyer/professor, Tony Tolbert, was having a bit of a mid-life crisis and instead of going out and buying a Ferrari, he decided to do something kind by offering his lovely home to a needy, homeless family. Yes, this story is an inspirational one!  Click on the photo to be directed to the video link.

As Mr. Tolbert mentions in this report, you don't have to be Bill Gates or Oprah Winfrey to make a difference in this world.  Of course, most of us cannot possibly do the incredible act that Mr. Tolbert did, but perhaps in a some small way we can all do something to help others. Ideas: find an elderly neighbor who could use a helping hand, adopt a soldier as a pen pal, mentor a child, buy a stranger a cup of coffee while at Starbucks, or how about just holding the door open for someone else or allowing them to go ahead of you in line.  For more ideas, check out the Random Acts of Kindness website.  As the photo above says, "kindness inspires kindness." Who wouldn't want to live in a world with more generosity of spirit?!