Don’t just be good to others

~ Fridgesays

Another epic quote from the dazzling and dynamic ‘Anon’

Firstly, lets break this quote down in to two segments and then devour it like its ice cream from a parlour with a cherry on the top…

Be good to others

It sounds so obvious and I can’t remember a time in my life where teachers at school weren’t ramming this concept down my throat? More annoyingly it feels sooo good to be good to others, it reminds me of the episode of Friends (1998) ‘The one where Phoebe hates PBS’ and tries to find a lack of joy in helping people.

Being good to others has to be good for those Karma points; hard core readers of my blog will know this is a game I play with myself where I do good for others – for example letting other drivers pull out before me, simply so I can collect the Karma points that I secretly believe (Yes i’m aware I’m in my thirties) will one day be traded in for greatness and to live the dream, or that I can cash in a few on rainy day when lady luck forgets to shine.

Most religions mention helping others, or more importantly the less fortunate. I recently attended a Gurdwara/ Sikh temple in Southhampton on a school trip and was blown away  with their generosity to feed others – the ‘Langar’ means that Sikhs across the globe are passionate about feeding those in need and not just a few but thousands every day. Luckily for us, their generosity extends to school trips and the opulence shown to us encourages a wonderful infusion of community cohesion and my love for Asian food 🙂

 

Being good to you 

My Dad is an old school fussy eater and I remember every Sunday my Mum would tie herself to the cooker and hours later produce a Sunday roast to die for…my Dad would push his around his plate and never seemed that grateful but every week Mum would give my Dad the best bits of meat and I never understood why? It seems to be a very British / Parent thing to put yourself at the back of the ‘be good to yourself’ line.

Reflecting further more I can’t help but feel to be the best I can for my son, at times I may need to go to the top of the hierarchy – after all what use is an exhausted mother to anyone? And besides the the first rule of life saving is your health first. Balance is prevalent on this blog and I think at times in friendship and family life we need to learn to put ourselves first, to be the best we can for ourselves and those we love…not all the time but on occasion.

As a result this weeks challenge is to put yourself first. Make time to go to the gym, to have a relaxing bath without a rubber duck or toddler for company, to walk the dog in solace or to pick up a book and that well deserved glass of wine, whatever your putting off because you are ‘so busy’ whatever floats your boat of desire…do it. You will feel lifted and I promise you as a result you will be a better human to be around for those you love.

I recently ‘treated’ myself to a bunch of sunflowers and got extremely guilty – I questioned why and then after a mental breakdown in the flower isle I realised I was worried about spending money on me, on a whim and something I didn’t ‘need’. You’ll be pleased to know I quickly defeated the demons and popped the bouquet in my trolley – because being good to me made me smile, feel good about myself and thats worth a million bouquets.

In balance of the week challenge I set above in bold, paying it forward is another ‘feel good’ thing to do. So why not also complete a random act of kindness it could be as simple as letting someone go ahead of you at the supermarket checkout or making cards of thanks for people around you for no particular reason. There is a legend of a (very cute) man called Joshua Coombes who I follow on instagram – he is a hairdresser and cuts the homeless people of Londons hair, the photographs speaks for itself as you see the transformation in his clients eyes. I believe its these sorts of people we should be giving ‘celebrity’ status to.

So this week give the challenges a go and remember that ‘only goodness can come out of good intentions’ its a double positive after all.


 

 

 

18 thoughts on “Don’t just be good to others”

  1. I too agree that you’ve got to be good to receive good. Josh Coombes is a shining example of a person. I’ve seen his work too. What an absolute guy. Lots of people should be like you and him. I do make sure I’m kind, friendly and helpful to all. Positivity breeds positivity #marvmondays

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      1. Yes I did. He is such an inspiration. This world definitely could use more people like him. Absolutely selfless and incredible thing to do. Wish I had a skill I could help people with X

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  2. I am fulfilling one of your challenges right now with a ‘breaking the rules’ glass of red on a Monday! Everything you say in this post is spot on. Good for you for hanging on to those sunflowers. It’s too easy to neglect ourselves and quite often, if we don’t think of ourselves, no-one else necessarily will! I’m ashamed to say that I have never heard of Josh Coombes, but I shall rectify that right now. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. Alison x #MarvMondays

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  3. What a lovely positive post! I’ve been thinking of doing this topic on my blog at some point. Being kind and paying it forward makes such a difference. I’m going to look out for more opportunities to help. #marvmondays

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    1. Google it, there are loads of ideas out there. One lady gives her children some money and a challenge to pay it forward. They use it to make cards, buy flowers and even toys for children in hospital (from pound land), it’s as much a financial game as it is teaching them of kindness.

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  4. The amount of battles I have had with myself over the years and the people I have put before me. I am always saying to friends do stuff that makes YOU smile! It’s breaking habits of a lifetime but hey are reversible – I am living proof (albeit – not great, but I do try to look after myself) I saw your sunflowers and they were gorgeous – brightened up a whole timeline hun! Great post – I love your blog and I REALLY want to met you – can we make that happen? xxx

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  5. Ah love this quote! I think the two segments go together as you need to be good to yourself in order to be good to others. I agree this was also rammed down my throat in school, which I think is great because it is a very important lesson. #bloggerclubuk

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  6. So so true, it’s the same as you can’t look after someone else unless you look after yourself first. Something I’ve started to learn since having the little one, definitely. Thanks for linking up to #MarvMondays. Kaye xo

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