A couple of years ago I was the recipient of three random acts of kindness all rolled into one and they were all related to my passion for writing.
My best friend, who ran an online business for a while, had asked me to write a weekly blog for her business Facebook page. The blog was to inspire and motivate young Moms by writing about my own experiences as a mother and grandmother. I enjoyed doing this and looked forward to finding new things to write about each week.
Eventually my friend had to close her business and so my blogging ended as well. As a parting and thank you gift she presented me with a cash gift that was to be used on me for something I really wanted to do for myself.
At the same time I had come across infomation for an online writing course with two women I had admired for a long time. The course consisted of three separate sessions (each a few weeks long) and connections with other writers and the two authors leading the course gave feedback on writing assignments in group messages on a regular basis. The three sessions were separate from and independent of each other, so I enrolled in the first session and was excited to get started.
I enjoyed it thoroughly and learned so much from the leaders of the course and the other writers, so I was sad when the first session was nearing the end. It was an experience unlike anything I had ever done before and it felt great to have done something for just myself! I discussed openly, in online conversations, with some of the others that I would be absent from the next session, as I had to save up my money to join the third session which was going to happen a few months down the road.
Then, in an incredible turn of events, one of my fellow writers contacted me privately to let me know that she was very sad about my having to take a break and that I wouldn’t be there for the second round. She offered to pay for my second sessio, as she was in a financial position to do so and she didn’t want to lose me as a fellow participant in this course. I was humbled and overwhelmed by her offer but didn’t really want to miss the second part, so I reluctantly but gratefully accepted.
She contacted the administrators of the course and worked out the logistics of paying the fee for my participation. Most of the other participants enrolled for both, Session 2 and 3, at the same time as that seemed to be a bit cheaper and logistically easier than paying for each session separately, but I didn’t have the money saved yet for the third session, so the team decided to gift me Session 3 and registered me for the remaining two sessions of the course. I was overwhelmed and couldn’t express my gratitude enough. I felt humbled and overjoyed that I would be able to complete the entire course. I felt so lucky!
The course ultimately has made a big difference in my life. It has helped me with my writing, but it has also put me in touch with so many people all over the world who I would never have met if I hadn’t been able to participate. I have made such valuable connections with so many women in so many different places on this planet, all of whom have brought different gifts, experiences and perspectives into my life. Other valuable projects and groups have been borne out of this original course and I couldn’t be more grateful to have met and connected with all of them.
These three simple acts of kindness, in a chain reaction, have made such a positive impact on my life and I will forever be grateful to the people who extended them to me!