In our small town in Iowa, we live next to a row of duplex condominiums. While walking our dogs past these homes, my husband and I have met several of our neighbors, including Amber, a single mom raising a teenage daughter.
A couple summers ago, we noticed Amber had trimmed some of her trees but left the branches and leaves in a random pile next to the curb.
For branches to be picked up for recycling here, they have to be cut into four-foot lengths and grouped into bundles tied with string. But week after week, the ragged pile of branches sat on the lawn next to Amber’s driveway.
Finally, I decided to do something nice for this neighbor. So I headed to Amber’s home with tree trimmers, a rake, a broom and a ball of twine. For the next couple hours, I cut the branches into short lengths and tied them in bundles.
I also raked up the leaves and debris and put them into a special bag that city staff will pick up with the trash. Finally, I swept the leftover grime off Amber’s driveway and sidewalk, then gathered my tools and quietly headed back home. The next day, city workers loaded the branches and the bag of leaves into their truck and took them away.
I felt good about doing an act of compassion for someone, and I didn’t expect a thank-you or other response. In fact, the house had looked quiet the day I worked on this project, and I assumed that Amber wasn’t home.
Several days later, we took our dogs for a walk and noticed Amber pulling weeds in her front yard. We stopped to say hello and chatted briefly before getting ready to continue our walk. But Amber stopped us and said, “I know what you did, and I want to say thank you.”
When we asked what she meant, Amber replied, “I was inside my home watching you the whole time you were cleaning up my branches. But I was crying so hard that I couldn’t come out and say thank you. No one has ever done anything that nice for me, especially people I don’t even know. And I appreciated it so much.” With that, she jumped up and hugged us both.
Changing someone’s life
This story is from Acts of Compassion, the new book my husband and I wrote together. The book is filled with stories and ideas about ways to show and receive compassion. While it’s not directly related to weight management, it includes chapters that talk about how compassion improves our physical as well as emotional health.
It’s now available on Amazon, including in the U.S., Canada, UK and many other countries.
Here’s a link to Amazon in the U.S.
Here’s a new website where you can read about the book:
Compassionate For Life If you click on the button below the book image, “read an excerpt,” you’ll be taken directly to the beginning of the book.
Watch for more stories from the book in the weeks ahead.