<blockquote>"No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted." ~Aesop</blockquote>
Do you believe that our existence ends when we die and that only tangible things are real?  This is important because ultimately this quote either confirms your beliefs or takes you to a great contradiction.  Either you believe there is something more than what we can see and feel and touch or this quote must be false.

There is much more to our existence than just what we can touch or see.  We contribute to the overall welfare of humanity when we perform acts of kindness and we overdraw that welfare when we're selfish.  There are intangibles that make up the quality of life that you experience.  One of those is the benefit we each derive from living in a community where people are generous and quick to share. Where people are kind and generous, the community is warm and giving.  When people are self-centered and greedy, the community is cold and lonely.  Imagine what your town would be like if everyone only looked out for themselves.

These types of "soft" measures do make a difference.  Look around your community.  Are there neighborhoods where you would prefer not to live?  How about companies you would prefer not to work for. Certain companies are selected year after year as the best places to work. The same is true with communities.

What you contribute outlasts you because it lives "in" someone else's recollection.  However they remember the event and what they derived from it outlasts your physical act.  You "pay it forward" when you invest in another, and then, so do they.  There must be something more than what we can see or do or experience.  Why else would this phenomenon exist or matter?

Choose today to make your place better.  Contribute an act of kindness.  You'll find that it wasn't wasted.

<span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo © 2011 <a title="Deb Chitwood's Raising Figure Skaters blog" href="http://raisingfigureskaters.com/2011/01/26/no-act-of-kindness-wordart-freebie/" target="_blank">RaisingFigureSkaters.com</a></span>