Caring Is Contagious

Back in December 2008 I blogged about this month's character trait, Caring. I posted almost daily small observations of the caring that I saw throughout the day. It was so nice to re-read those posts. Now, I'm not a Grinch in any way, but reading of all the caring that I had seen caused my heart to grow almost 2 sizes yesterday.

While I am not "elf on the shelf" and my report of caring might not affect behavior or presents received, I have spent some time being intentional in my observations of people and seeking out examples of caring. Recognizing that caring is happening all around us should be inspiring, and hopefully infectious.

I have seen caring in...

a high school boy who took several minutes to sit with an upset student, waiting patiently with that student until he was feeling better

a sweet daughter who interrupted her breakfast to help her mom get the Christmas cards and letters put into envelopes

a loving father who received a phone call at 11:40 p.m. from his daughter. She was stuck at the bottom of a snowy hill. He drove 30 minutes on slippery roads to go help her.

a caring son who makes sure all of the advent calendars have been moved to the correct day, helping build the anticipation of this wonderful time of year.

an educational assistant who delivered a small present to the school nurse, saying "I think sometimes you are just forgotten."

a ward choir director who has given much of his time to prepare a special Christmas program this year, thinking outside of the box and incorporating the Primary children in the sacrament program.

a CBS evening news piece about a lonely young woman who just wanted to rent some parents for Christmas and wound up inspiring many people to seek out those who were lonely
http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/on-the-road-woman-seeks-rental-family-on-craigslist/#postComments

this video message about three young men who take the time to notice others in need and then take just the extra few seconds that is needed to offer assistance

So what examples of caring have you seen? Have you taken the time to notice? Does seeing caring inspire you to be more caring? This time of year it is so easy to get caught up in the stress of shopping, the stress of having just the right present or the right treat plate, the stress of outdoing the Facebook post of what your friend's elf has been doing, the stress of just trying to keep it all together. When the stress gets to be too much, stop, take a deep breath, and just notice. Notice and appreciate the small, simple things. Notice and nurture the relationships that matter. Notice the caring and allow it to be contagious.