About Those Good Deeds...

Right now, there is music blaring from my neighbor's house. Not so much the music, but the beat. It has been going since 7:00 this morning. Since I don't get up until 7:30, it was not a welcome noise.

This neighbor is not someone who gets along with anyone. He does not like kids or dogs, and we all wonder why he chose to move into a neighborhood filled with both.

But I can guess what's going on. I am guessing he has gone away for a few days and his adult son is staying to watch the house for him. I remember when the son lived here, that he enjoyed loud music.

In the past, this neighbor has called the police on other neighbors when their dog barked for too long. He doesn't like noise. I'll tell you what, I don't care much for this noise myself. After listening to it for almost 8 hours now, it is really getting to me. I've knocked on the door, but with the music so loud, of course, no one came to answer.

Now it's MY turn to call the police, isn't it? Time to get that neighbor back for the way he has treated others, right?

But I'm not going to.

This son has had trouble with the police in the past. We don't talk much, but I'm pretty sure my neighbor isn't thrilled about that. So, what would it solve to involve the police in his life again? 

It would get him back for always being mean, wouldn't it? Yeah! 

But, like I said, I'm not going to. And that's my good deed today.

Good deeds can go unnoticed, and even be things that you DON'T do, like not calling the police when no real harm is being done, even if you can.

Sometimes what you do will be unearned. Like when you DON'T yell at customer service, even when they give you an attitude.

Sometimes the good deed that you do for a day never gets a thank you. You might even get yelled at. For example, the poor teacher who gave a a student a poor grade for not studying and decided it would be best to discuss this with the parent. Of course, the parent yells back at the teacher for having unreasonable expectations. The teacher absorbs to anger but doesn't yell back. Because somewhere down the line, a valuable lesson could be learned.

Sometimes your good deed will seem pointless. Like returning a shopping cart someone left out in the parking lot, far away from the corral. On a cold and windy day, that's one less cart the grocery store staff has to go running out after.

Sometimes, you see an easy way to get ahead, but you don't. You may have just saved an insurance company some money, making rates more affordable for those who struggle.

Sometimes, you DON'T honk your horn at the person who pulled in front of you a little too close, and you may have just saved everyone on the highway from an incident of road rage or resulting traffic accident.

What are other people giving thanks for today? Maybe it's you. Maybe their Facebook post today read something like this: "I had a really awful day. I couldn't get anything right at the register. But I am thankful for the customer who was patient with me while I figured it out."

Often you do a good deed and never see who it might benefit- or if anyone does at all. And when you do these things without even thinking about it, that's when you have earned respectable character. And that's when everyone benefits.