I was reminded today about a poem I once read. All of this from a simple act of giving out stickers.
~*~ A Pebble ~*~
Author James W. Foley
Drop a pebble in the water: just a splash, and it is gone;
But there’s half-a-hundred ripples circling on and on and on,
Spreading, spreading from the center, flowing on out to the sea.
And there is no way of telling where the end is going to be.
Drop a pebble in the water: in a minute you forget,
But there’s little waves a-flowing, and there’s ripples circling yet,
And those little waves a-flowing to a great big wave have grown;
You’ve disturbed a mighty river just by dropping in a stone.
Drop an unkind word, or careless: in a minute it is gone;
But there’s half-a-hundred ripples circling on and on and on.
They keep spreading, spreading, spreading from the center as they go,
And there is no way to stop them, once you’ve started them to flow.
Drop an unkind word, or careless: in a minute you forget;
But there’s little waves a-flowing, and there’s ripples circling yet,
And perhaps in some sad heart a mighty wave of tears you’ve stirred,
And disturbed a life was happy ere you dropped that unkind word.
Drop a word of cheer and kindness: just a flash and it is gone;
But there’s half-a-hundred ripples circling on and on and on,
Bearing hope and joy and comfort on each splashing, dashing wave
Till you wouldn’t believe the volume of the one kind word you gave.
Drop a word of cheer and kindness: in a minute you forget;
But there’s gladness still a-swelling, and there’s joy circling yet,
And you’ve rolled a wave of comfort whose sweet music can be heard
Over miles and miles of water just by dropping one kind word.
This poem has profound messages. But, what I notice most is that a single act (positive) can lead to many blessings.
About a year ago, Tatum began giving out stickers at Einstein’s. She receives a bunch of them at Trader Joe’s, and then she proceeds to give them out at Einstein’s. The patrons and employees LOVE it. Well, the manager, Cindy, wanted to return the favor, so each time Tot would come in, she’d give Tatum a sticker back. Then this led to Cindy instructing her employees to make sure Tatum always received a sticker, so she had stickers always at the register.
Now, it has been about a year, and Cindy has moved on, but there is one employee who has run with this sticker graciousness:
Cynthia.
Yes, as noted a few blogs ago, Cynthia, now not only gives stickers and lots of love to Tatum, but she walks around with a tub to all the kids giving out stickers. Parents are so blessed by this as the kids love to come to Einstein’s now.
ALL THIS BEGAN WITH TATUM AND HER STICKER-GIVING HABIT.
It’s a great lesson to teach Tatum and really all of us. You never know what can happen when you do something kind.
