Express Your Greatness

Greatness comes in all shapes and sizes, and most true heroes are unsung. You don’t have to be a Martin Luther King Jr. to serve the world. As he noted, “Everyone can be great because everyone can serve.” Each of us has our own particular talent or ability. What is your greatness? Here is an inspiring story:

“I live in a low-income apartment complex. A lot of my neighbors are single mothers struggling to get by, and sometimes you can almost feel despair all around you. It is just so difficult to raise kids, work, and try to make something better of your life at the same time.

“But there is this one man who lives there who I swear must have been given to us by some higher power. He is both physically and mentally handicapped but has managed to take care of himself by working part-time at a fast-food place and collecting cans and bottles to recycle. He knows us all by name and greets us all when we leave each morning and return each evening. He’s always there to help out, although we are all really careful not to take advantage of him. He loves kids, and there isn’t a day when at least one of the kids from the complex can’t be spotted hanging around the playground with him, being pushed on the swing or playing in the sandbox. When you need to rush out to the store, he is always willing to keep an eye on the kids for a while. But mostly, he is just always there, always smiling, reminding us that we are more than all our problems.”

Read more: Spirit, Inspiration, , express greatness

Adapted from Practice Random Acts of Kindness, by the editors of Random Acts of Kindness (Conari Press, 2007). Copyright (c) 2007 by the editors of Random Acts of Kindness. Reprinted by permission of Conari Press.
Adapted from Practice Random Acts of Kindness, by the editors of Random Acts of Kindness (Conari Press, 2007).