a piece of advice

My mom turned 49 on Monday. I decided to ask her for advice on her birthday to see what wisdom she had to impart on me after living almost half a century. Of course she was like “Wisdom? I’m not sure about that.” at first, but after a moment of thought she simply said, “My advice is: put people first.”

This simple piece of advice struck me as just pure goodness. I feel like living by this will bring joy around me. It will spread smiles and I guess that is what I really love to see. I want to build others up so that they can do the same for the people around them. You know the saying “Smiles are contagious” or something? I think that is the same for kindness and selflessness. Everyone has a story and everyone has a beautiful future ahead of them, so why not shine your light on them today? When someone you don’t know comes up to you and genuinely shows concern for you or goes out of their way to make your life easier, that is one of the best feelings. When that happens I think about it all day. It can really remind you that humans are good and that there are people watching out for you. Putting people first really impacts our world in such a positive way whether the kindness shown is from friends and family or perfect strangers. I think it is so important to humble yourself and really focus on loving others. Putting others first doesn’t mean you should value yourself any less or neglect your own needs. Now I know that this is something that I am working on. I can definitely go overboard on putting my focus outward and maybe that is to distract myself from other things, but I know that I am doing the right thing. By putting others first, I believe that it will inspire others to return the favor you know? And then we all put each other first and the whole world is a big happy family! Isn’t that cute? Okay I know the world isn’t all sunshine and rainbows but I’m tired and delirious and you get my point. Put others first. Spread kindness. Shine your light. That’s my advice… well, my mom’s.