My name is Matt. I have lived a relatively uneventful and sheltered life, in my eyes. Despite this fact, however, throughout my life’s travels I have personally known or been acquainted with people who have seen horror in this world.
I watch the news like everybody else. There are a lot of negative things going on in the world right now. Many of us have a lot of reasons to be jaded at the world, at life in general. Or at the very least we could all be chronically scared, anxious, paranoid, or intimidated.
But that is NOT what this blog is about. Believe it or not, despite all of the bad out there, I believe that the good that exists in this world outweighs it; by far in fact. I believe that there is much more GOOD news in the world. We just don’t hear about it.
So wouldn't you like to? When it comes right down to it, I believe that most of us would. It would do us all some good to hear about the good going on in the world, kind of like our positive mojo fiber for the day. Therefore, I would like to offer up this blog as a forum for those who would like to share their positive life experiences, and I invite you to do so by answering one simple question:
"Name one nice thing that someone has done for you that has positively impacted your life."
It may be an individual, group, organization, company, church, pet, you name it. Whether you consider it to be of great or small significance, please be encouraged to share. Be it what it may, there are no judges here. Please include your name and where you are from in the heading of your post. I will leave it up to you as to whether or not you would like to include your last name, as I plan to compile these posts into a published book when I have a sufficient amount (although I plan to see the sharing of these experiences continue for a long, long time). Also feel free to send experiences or comments on the blog to somuchgoodintheworld@gmail.com.
May you enjoy this journey with me. I have a feeling that many of the experiences herein will be both astounding and inspiring, because I sincerely believe that there is So Much Good in the World. Now help me prove it! Leave a comment below and help me start the chain.
Enjoy!
Hey Matt,
ReplyDeleteWell to answer your question my dad did something so nice for me. I recall when I was serving a full time mission for the LDS church most of my American companions said that they would go back to school after their mission. I never really understood the need of doing so because here in Tahiti once you get off from school there is no way to go back like in the USA. I have pondered about the importance of education and I made the decision at the end of the mission to go back to school. My only choice was BYU Hawaii. I took the test and I passed. But nothing happened afterward. I did everything, sent my application, and still nothing. I was really discouraged and thought it was meant to be. I was about to give up and my dad have seen what I was going through. He then did something I would never forget. He went to see the one in charge for the application over here and told him that I really deserve to go. Two or three weeks later I got my letter of acceptance for BYU Hawaii. I was so thrilled and happy. I am so grateful for my dad who got involved in the process. I went to BYU Hawaii for 5 years. It was one of the most rewarding and unforgettable experience in my life. I met so different people from different part of the world. "Different culture, one faith." This has made a great impact in my life. I graduated with a Bachelor Degree in Science.
There are so many good things around us and they are even closer to us that me might think!
This is Leigh in Colorado:
ReplyDeleteA long time ago when I had just learned to drive, a girl friend and I took a road trip through California in my parent's little Japanese pickup (two wheel drive). We had planned everything out, we had camping gear, groceries, a little gas stove, we were going to sleep in the back of the truck when not staying with relatives. a day or two out we headed for a road on the map in the foothills of the Sierras. Unfortunately it was April, rainy, and being from southern California we did not know you could not go through the mountains in April anyway. We got on a wide, red clay road in the forest that was just on ocean of mud, and got stuck, of course. Resourcefully, we tried to get unstuck until it was almost dark. We switched gears and decided to just camp there till morning, but the camp stove would not start, and all we had was raw meat. It began to get cold. Two young girls, the middle of nowhere. A couple of young long-haired men came up in an old truck. Today we would be terrified. But they stopped,asked if we needed help, and pulled us out of the mud...And, despite the fact that everything we had was covered with red mud, they offered to let us sleep at their cabin a short distance away, shower, and cook dinner on their stove. We decided to trust...and they were totally great. Our trip adventure turned out to be excellent, and we never saw them again.
A year ago my then, one-year-old daughter, was really sick and started having seizures in the airport in St. Louis. We knew no one. We were completely alone and very afraid for our daughter. EMS arrived and took her to the nearest hospital. She was there nearly an hour before her seizures were stopped by medication. We learned that she needed to be transported via helicopter to a pediatric hospital for proper treatment. She arrived at the Children's Hospital before we did and had been undergoing treatment by doctors and nurses while we were still on the road. When we arrived our daughter was connected to all sorts of machines and her skin was colored by the blood on her skin and medicine being used to treat her. I barely recognized her. My husband and I couldn't go into the treatment room until they had stabilized her, we could just stand outside the door and watch. I recognized one of the nurses from the helicopter in there with her. While all of the other nurses were looking at the monitors, administering medication, and trying to stabilize my daughter, this nurse was at my daughter's head, stroking it and singing to her. I couldn't be there, but this wonderful woman did what I wished with all my heart to be able to do. She was loving my daughter for me, helping her realize that everything would be all right, and that someone was there. I cannot tell you how much this helped me through this traumatic time. It was like my Heavenly Father sent me an angel to take care of my precious daughter for me. We stayed in touch with this nurse throughout my daughter's treatment, and I couldn't thank her enough for what she did for us. Luckily my daughter was fine. The doctor's and nurses did a wonderful job helping and healing her, but I will always remember this particular nurse and the gift she gave me.
ReplyDeleteHello all!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much to those who have posted such wonderful experiences thus far! We're off to a great start.
Just a quick reminder for the rest of us: These experiences don't have to be overly huge or amazing. I am looking for anything and everything. It could be a simple, but thoughtful thing that your neighbor did for you this morning, or something nice that someone said to you, etc. We want to hear about it. Please don't feel that your experience has to be particularly unique or incredible for it to be worth sharing. Any act of kindness is encouraging and inspiring. So the more the merrier! Please feel free to share.
When I was going though alot of stuff with relationships I read a book with a friend called its Called Breaking Up Because Of Its Broken and it made me realize alot of things. My friends always give me advice and I love them to death. Also my Human Anatomy teacher help me see my dream in being in the medical field.
ReplyDeleteEvery single Monday night at about 11 pm we hear our neighbors taking out our garbage. We rarely see or hear them otherwise. Most of the time they even bring the cans in for us, stealthily, the next day.
ReplyDeleteMy husband gave me the benefit of the doubt, when there wasn't much doubt to be had.
ReplyDeleteI would like to say that even the most simple acts bring about happiness in the world and to individual lives. For instance, when an acquaintance or even someone I do not know smiles or says "hello", it brightens my day. So simple and easy to do but so effective to bring about happiness in the lives of others.
ReplyDeleteSuch activities as phone calls, writing letters, serving/helping in some way, holding the door open to be polite, saying a positive comment or just seeing how their day went shows there is so much good in the world today. It is unfortunate this is not shared more. Thanks!
I have a chronically ill daughter. In 3 1/2 years, she has had 10 surgeries, 16 hospitalzations and countless procedures, with the likelihood of many more to come. The medical bills are absoultely staggering. We have struggled for years to make payments on them, but when you just keep adding to them, we haven't made even a dent. After her most recent problems, my husband and I were feeling completely overwhelmed. How were we ever going to get ahead in life if every dime is going for her care? Why do we have to make decisions for our daughter, not based on what is best for her, but what we can afford? A little while ago, two of my friends came to me and decided to set up a non- profit organization in her name. They are organizing fundraisers and constantly brainstorming for options of other ways to raise money to pay for her medical care. I cannot tell you the weight that has been lifted from my shoulders. Because of these 2 caring women, who saw a need, I will be able to focus on giving my daughter the care that she needs. I will not have to worry about how I am going to pay for everything when she has surgery again-- which she will. A transplant of 3 organs is most likely in her future and instead of facing the coming years until she can have it done with dread and worry about if we were going to be able to make it happen, we can face it with light hearts and peace of mind, knowing that the financial aspect of it will be taken care of and when she emerges from this time of her life, we will able to enjoy our life with her without this dark cloud hanging over our head. They may not know what a gift they have given us, but I will NEVER forget it!
ReplyDeleteHi Matt,
ReplyDeleteI just want to share something with you that has particularly brightened my life recently, and that is welcoming a German high school foreign exchange student into our home for the school year. Around 4 months ago, sort of on a whim, my daughters (14 and 11) and I decided we wanted to host a boy because they always wondered what it would be like to have a big brother. We had already decided it before my husband came home from work...and when we told him, he didn't seem too amused. He said, "Okay, just whatever you want to do." We had the chance to chat with Lukas and occasionally speak to him and/or his parents on the phone over the ensuing months, so by the time he arrived a week and a half ago, we felt as if we had known him for forever. Lukas just turned 15 a few months ago, is 6 feet 4 inches, 185 pounds, and is a soccer MACHINE. He belongs to a club in Germany and plays in tournaments all over Europe.
I took Lukas to school to meet the athletic director and to turn in his sports physical paperwork, and the athletic director told us that tryouts were that evening at 6 p.m. We arrived at the field, and Lukas walked out onto the field, where all of the other high school boys welcomed him. The soccer coach, Coach Smith, came over to talk to my husband and me, and he said, "He is not here to try out this evening. He is here for practice and to get to know the team. He is already on the team." We were a little puzzled, but then he continued: "You see, I googled him. Trust me, we are putting him on the varsity team. I saw several sites that included him and his team, and although I don't know a word of German, I had someone else read some of it for me, so he is in." We were so excited for him. In practice, he scored 3 goals and his practice team won their first practice match 5-1. Although he has to use his inhaler before every practice due to the fact that he has mild asthma already, and the North Carolina heat and humidity are a little rough for him, he has been a real trooper.
So, the whole soccer thing is great, but this is not the real thing about having Lukas in our home that is so wonderful. The thing that is wonderful for me is seeing my husband bond with him, especially when he was a bit ambivalent in the beginning. Lukas is a real joker (just like my whole family is), but he also is wise beyond his years. He comes from an affluent family, but one would never know it. He is the most caring and polite boy, he and the girls get along fabulously, and he has brought some new energy into our home. I never thought hosting an exchange student would be such a rewarding experience. Already, just 10 days into it, I think of him as my son..as another one of my kids...and I don't treat him any differently. But to come from an affluent background and to be so humble and delightful - and constantly thanking me for giving him this opportunity...he is just such a great kid.
The other fulfilling aspect of hosting Lukas is that my husband's ancestry is German, and the girls are so thrilled to be making the connection. They ask Lukas questions about Germany constantly, and he is teaching them some German, which can get quite hilarious at times.
I almost dread June 17, 2010, when we have to put him on the plane back to Germany. I know we will all be in tears. Ah, but we have a long time until then...a long time to build some memories. I believe that even when he goes back to Germany, he will forever be a part of our family. I only hope that the experience is as rewarding for him as it is for us.
I was in the car with my son waiting for my husband in the bank. and I see a car run out of gas right in front of me on a busy road. My first instinct is to jump out and help. I couldn't with my son in the car so I watched wishing someone would help him push his car 2 blocks to a gas station. The man managed to get the car moving all by himself. Slowly he was working his way to the gas station, when a man walked out of the bank and RAN to him and started to help him. I thought it was amazing to see him so willing to help with no hesitation or question. As I sat there I then saw the hero from the bank walk by my car on the way from the gas station with a big smile on his face. I love to see people help others.
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