The Gift Of Kindness

by Midnight Freemasons Founder
Todd E. Creason, 33°

I went to the post office yesterday.  I always go to the same post office, because they aren't usually very busy, and I mail a lot of stuff--books mostly.  I hadn't been there in several months, but when I walked in there yesterday, the clerk at the counter said, "oh, I've been waiting for you to come in!"  And she disappears.  When she comes back she has this little ceramic fez she found in a garage sale or an auction somewhere.

She gave it to me.  It made my day!  I showed it to my wife when I picked her up for lunch.  I showed my co-workers when I got back to the office.  I even posted a picture of it on social media.  It's now sitting on the top shelf in my office where everyone will see it when they walk in. 

I barely know her, but through our interactions at the window over the last several years, she knew I was a Mason.  She knew I was a writer and I mailed a lot of books.  She knows I'm a collector of Masonic curiosities.  I know the same basics about her as she knows about me.  She's an avid antique collector, which means she knows my dad who is also an avid antique collector.  And she works at the post office.  That's it.

She probably paid a buck or two for it.   I think the thing that most impressed me is her attitude in life.  She's a giver.  When she saw that item, she didn't look at it to decide if she wanted it or not as most people would.  She looked at it and realized somebody she hardly knows might enjoy having that trinket and she picked it up--it could have been sitting in her locker at work for weeks before I finally showed up.  And I couldn't be more sure than I am in saying I bet I'm not the only person that has gone into that post office and gotten a similar surprise from her.

I guess my take-away from that lesson is that it doesn't take very much to make somebody's day.  We spend so much time worrying about our own problems, and our own concerns, and absorbed in our own little world we sometimes fail to see those around us.  We fail to appreciate the things other people do for us.  It doesn't cost very much (even nothing) to do a nice thing.  It doesn't take much time or effort to call somebody out of the blue--even if you don't need something from them.  Thank them for something they've done for you.  Or drop a card in the mail to let somebody know you appreciate them, or that you've been thinking about them.  

As you're reading this, I'd be willing to bet there's somebody that's come to your mind.  I'll bet it is somebody you just realized that you really need to do something nice for.

Why don't you just do it?  If you're reading this, you've got time right now, right?

~TEC


Todd E. Creason, 33° is the Founder of the Midnight Freemasons blog, and an award winning author of several books and novels, including the Famous American Freemasons series. Todd started the Midnight Freemason blog in 2006, and in 2012 he opened it up as a contributor blog The Midnight Freemasons (plural). Todd has written more than 1,000 pieces for the blog since it began. He is a Past Master of Homer Lodge No. 199 and Ogden Lodge No. 754 (IL) where he currently serves as Secretary. He is a Past Sovereign Master of the Eastern Illinois Council No. 356 Allied Masonic Degrees. He is a Fellow at the Missouri Lodge of Research (FMLR). He is a charter member of the a new Illinois Royal Arch Chapter, Admiration Chapter No. 282 and currently serves as EHP. You can contact him at: webmaster@toddcreason.org

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