The Best Kind of Power

My first husband had this theory about Power that really bugged me. He claimed that each person in the world comes with their own share of "power chips." The game of life has us humans pitted against each other, each of us trying to gain power chips from the people around us. The more chips, the greater the power.

That kind of competition just never went over well with me. I prefer cooperation to competition (just ask my girls ... and they'll start singing the song from Sesame Street).

To me, the most tremendous kind of power is the power for good. I got to experience that a few times this week:

• Sitting with three of the oldest gals in our quilt group at lunch. All three have recently started using walkers. The oldest is almost 94. I got to be their "gopher" so that they didn't have to get up and down a lot. I also got to be their entertainment for the afternoon, just keeping the laughter flowing. I got to shower them with hugs and kisses on the cheek.
  
  
• Helping a friend pack and get ready for a big move. She and her family have lived in the same home for 15 years. Now they're moving to a smaller place. I offered my time and services to try and ease some of the burden.
  
  
• One of my daughters that lives far from home got food poisoning. She was pretty miserable. I got to try and soothe her spirit via phone calls and give her some suggestions on how to weather the illness. I was the voice that encouraged her to be gentle to herself.
  
  
• I took the burden of cleaning the bathroom off my youngest daughter. For now, I'll do that job for her as a simple way to bless my family -- without complaint.

It's just little stuff, for sure. But simple acts of goodness and kindness leave a residue of gentleness and eases life for others just a bit.

That, to me, is a tremendous power for good.