By Dr. Joe Manza DC, CACCP - Webster's Friendly Neighborhood Chiropractor
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As humans, most of the time we are caught up doing our own thing, living our own life. For the most part I am deep in my world with my family, and my practice, and schedules for ferrying children to baseball, hockey, dance, and football. Sometimes God, or the universe, or just pure chance, or whatever will put random speed bumps in your way to make you realize that there is more to the day-in-day-out of everyday life.
This past week, as my son and I were walking Thor, our Siberian Huskey, two random speed bumps came our way. Little did we know at the time what profound of an impact the three of us would have on creatures both great and small. These two random speed bumps that we acted kindly on took almost no time at all and would greatly impact our health and that of those we interacted with.
The first random bump we encountered came when a complete stranger called to us from across the street asking if he could see our dog. Admittedly I was a bit hesitant at first but after I assessed the situation, I made the decision to indulge him. As it turns out, he had just “lost” his Huskey a couple days prior. Thor immediately warmed to him and he started crying. It was truly a beautiful moment. He showed us pictures of his dog and it was like looking at Thor’s identical twin. My heart ached and was happy for him at the same time. I know he left for work sad but feeling love.
Another random bump came our way just a couple of days later. My son, being closer to the ground than I, noticed a small bumble bee lying on its back struggling to get right side up and flying. I knew we had to help it, as being stuck in that position meant that it was easy pickin’s for some bird or arachnid. My son found a small stick and gently flipped it over and it impossibly flew away. We both felt good because we helped an important part of our ecosystem and he had an impromptu lesson in pollination.
When we took the time to engage these random speed bumps by acting kindly, not only did we learn a few lessons about people, life, and our planet, but we also created a little bit of health, too. It’s been shown that kindness creates extremely positive changes on our own physiology. If you want reductions in stress, blood pressure, cortisol, and a longer life, healthier heart, and more energy, then doing something nice for someone is right for you. Check out www.randomactsofkindness.org for more life- and health-changing information.
You never know when that random speed bump will arise for you to act kindly by doing something good for another person (or creature). Better yet, create your own random speed bump; buy someone a coffee or something; your health will thank you for it.
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Dr. Joe Manza DC, CACCP runs a chiropractic office located in the Village of Webster.