On Goodness, Gratitude, and Grace
Like a kaleidoscope, ever changing and working in tandem with every turn,
gratitude emerges as the touch point where awareness,
connection, and meaning meet.
-The Miracle Collectors
As August comes to a close and another summer is in the rearview mirror, we hope you have warm memories to tuck away. We are still smiling about our own warm memories of seeing each other earlier this month, an all too infrequent occurrence with our homes on opposite coasts, and lots of grandchildren keeping us busy. But we are grateful for all of it, a theme Katie writes about in this month’s Blog post. We hope you enjoy the waning days of the season in the company of people you love.
Collecting Miracle Moments One Story at a Time.
Joan and Katie
As the world spins madly on, I am in need of stories like the one that has gone viral this month about a pizza shop owner from the Bronx, Dan Romano. Looking outside his shop door one day he saw an elderly woman pulling a half-eaten pizza out of his garbage can. Romano immediately went over, threw the pizza back in the garbage, brought the woman inside and handed her a fresh slice. She began to cry “happy tears” out of surprise and gratitude according to Romano. But the sight of the old woman digging food out of his garbage really got to him and Mr. Romano decided to take it one step further, writing a note he posted to his front door: “To the people eating out of my garbage…Please just come in and tell me you're hungry, I will forever give you a fresh slice of pizza + fresh water to drink… God Bless.”
It reminds me of a story we saw 10 years ago about the heartbreaking photograph taken of a bent, defeated looking old man, Fidencio Sanchez, in a Chicago neighborhood pushing a paleta (popsicle) cart. The photographer, Joel Macias, was so moved by the man’s plight, he bought $50 worth of popsicles from him and then posted the photograph to Facebook. When the photo went viral, Mr. Macias and a friend decided to start a GoFundMe campaign to raise $3000, hoping it would at least give Mr. Sanchez some vacation time. Instead, the campaign raised $384,000 donated mostly in 10’s and 20’s. It turns out 89-year-old Sanchez had recently lost his only daughter, and his wife was ill, prompting his necessity to return to work. The GoFundMe campaign allowed him to live out the rest of his days without worrying about the necessities of life. Mr. Sanchez was “very grateful and very happy” prompting his own desire to give back now that he was in a position to do so.
Goodness is catching. There is a study that concluded that acts of kindness affect the witnesses as much as the recipients. While the recipients feel grateful, the witnesses experience an uplifting and inspirational response that prompts action of their own. Indeed, NBC interviewed one customer of D’Romano Pizza who was visibly emotional about what Mr. Romano had done and others in his community expressed pride in his actions to look after those who needed help. Many thousands were clearly moved by Mr. Sanchez’s situation to send in their modest contributions, to participate and do their part.
The spark is gratitude. Like Cicero wrote, “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.” Kindness, generosity, compassion all spring, I believe, from a deep sense of gratitude in your own life. It is the lens from which you become aware of someone else’s hardship, without passing judgement. Dan Romano has never forgotten something his Mom told him, “Desperate people can’t make good decisions on an empty stomach.” A simple message her son took to heart, passing it along to all of us one slice at a time. (Katie)
Miracle Moment Challenge: Make My Day
Is there someone in your life, past or present, who deserves your gratitude? Have you told them? What would be a good way to thank them?