Blog #671: Why I Bought Them All – A Lesson in Generosity

I’m still in the Caribbean.
Today…
I walked for five hours.
I ended up in the same place I started.
But that was the plan.
______
My goal today was not to get somewhere.
My goal today was to find something.
Street dogs.
I have a huge heart for them.
I want to rescue every street dog (and cat), I see.
I know I can’t.
But I know I can feed them.
______
Today…
I went to a grocery store and bought all the frozen hotdogs they had. The hot outside temperature melted them fast. I then walked…and walked…and walked…looking for the dogs often lying on the street seemingly depleted and barely hanging on due to the hardship of their lives.
Sadly…
Not all the dogs responded when I broke out the hotdogs and tossed one his or her way. Some ran from me. That was ultra-sad because I KNEW they had previously met humans who had showed them ZERO kindness.
For some – animal or person – life gets brutally unkind, and it’s instinctual to run at times.
______
My initial hotdog purchase lasted for 50% of the day.
Then I resorted to buying as many meatballs as a street vendor had for sale. He looked at me strangely. I assumed he was wondering why meatballs were all I ordered, and how could anyone want so many. I didn’t share that they weren’t for me.
And that’s what I did for five hours.
I fed street dogs.
______
I would love to share…
My heart is full of happiness for what I did, but I can’t. I type this now with a hurting heart because of what I saw and lived.
BUT…
My hurt heart goes far beyond seeing sad dogs. It was also all the people I talked to along the way that wanted to know what I was doing. One young woman asked if I could feed her, too. “I’m a dog,” she said.
My heart was pinched.
Harder.
______
Let’s not deceive ourselves.
Not every day of our lives is created to live empowered.
Not every day of our lives is meant to be inspiring.
Not every day of our lives leaves us with a smile.
But every day of our lives is meant for us to be kind people in a hard world.
______
Be kind.
When you can.
Where you can.
Because wherever you are in the world…
It’s most likely needed.
S.
Note: The photo above? Spending a day with unloved street dogs inspires me to miss MINE just a little bit more.
EXTRA Thoughts…
We celebrate wealth.
We celebrate fame.
How different the world would be…
if we celebrated kindness.
✨
Did you miss last week’s blog?
I shared a story about walking up a narrow street in the Caribbean…and a machete-wielding guy popped out of nowhere in front of me.
Curious?
Here’s last week’s blog:
✨
Thank you for being here today. May my simple blog water seeds previously planted in your heart.
With kindness and gratitude…
Share with friends, co-workers and everybody else in the world: