Dear Friends and Lovers everywhere,

“Love is patient,

love is kind.”

We’re in a series of reflections based on St. Paul’s Ode to Love (I Cor. 13)

This is also about transforming America.

You’ve seen the bumper sticker that says, “Practice random acts of kindness and senseless acts of beauty.”

We would transform America inside out if we just were a little kinder to the people we meet each day.

A smile to the store clerk instead of a scowl.

A wave to our neighbor across the street.

A quick phone call or email  to just say to a friend, “You’re thought of, loved and prayed for.”

A thumbs up sign to the homeless man on the street corner.

My mother was very harsh with me when I was a kid.  There was a lot of yelling in my boyhood home.

So parents and brothers and sisters can think about the kindness issue as well.

I have had my own inner work to  root out that kind of unkindness, even rudeness, from my own behavior.

 I get upset when someone answers a phone call of mine with a curt email because they don’t want to talk to me.

There have been times that I was so angry with company greed that I had the store clerk in tears when i yelled at her.  It helped me realize I had a lot of improvement to do in this area.

With God’s grace that’s happening.  I’ve made it a point to transform myself more and more to be kind to everyone even and especially those who are not kind to me. And I examine myself on this at day’s end, especially with telemarketers.

And what about texting?  How much rudeness and downright hurt and heartache happens in an instant without a thought of what the  long term damage two thumbs can do! 

The more technology we have to communicate with, it seems the less we communicate.

That’s what Paul is getting at:

Let’s just be kind to one another.

It will transform America.

Before you go, and especially if you haven’t quite woken up this mornin’ here’s a rousing gospel melody for ya: “Put a little Love in your heart!” Click here. Turn up your speakers and be sure to enter full screen and have a great day, whether you like it or not!

With love,

Bob Traupman

contemplative writer