Spreading Empathy One Email at a Time!
My mom sends me many, many “please forward” emails: Those touching stories (verified or not) written to make the reader emotionally well up with joy, pride, or whimsy…
Busy with life, these emails often sit awhile. Yet I (eventually) open and sift through them at day’s (or week’s) end because it would be hard to click “delete” on my mother’s good intentions.
The latest batch of “please forwards” included a story of a disabled child who found himself at-bat in a tied baseball game among more functional players. The lump-in-the-throat came as both sides teamed up, allowing the child to connect with the ball and then hobble around the bases to experience what it was like to win at something.
Exhaling after reading this, I realized something even more touching. My mother was still guiding me; giving me a subtle pep-talk, cheering me on to keep my faith in humanity, and prompting me to do my part – even when the bases seem loaded against me.
This example is one of the many reasons I love my mom.
Yes, the world today appears to be mesmerized by reality show drama and headline-grabbing disaster. But take a tip from my mother: we are all free to choose our focus and what we forward onto others.
I am copying and pasting (below) the plea I found at the end of the baseball story’s email:
“If you’re thinking about forwarding this message, chances are you’re probably sorting out the people in your address book who aren’t the ‘appropriate’ ones to receive this type of story.
Well, the person who sent you this email believes that you can make a difference. We all have thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the ‘natural order of things.’
Seemingly trivial interactions between people present a choice: Do we pass along a little spark of love and humanity, or do we pass up these opportunities, leaving the world a little bit colder in the process? You now have two choices:
1. Delete (or) 2. Forward.”
The next time a softhearted gem appears in your inbox – the kind of email that reminds you that goodness exists – consider it an opportunity to honor the person that brought you into this world by reading and reflecting on its message and the good intentions of its sender.
In the spirit of motherly wisdom, decide to pass along rather than pass up the opportunities to spread a bit of ninth-inning hope or humor. Remember, in the game of life; we are all on the same team.