Nicest Thing?

[C B]

I had a deep conversation with one of my friends on the phone this morning at 2AM (thank you tequilla) and she posed an interesting question to me which I thought I'd ask GA.

 

1) What's the nicest thing someone's done for you in the past year?

2) What's the nicest thing you'd done for someone else in the past year?

 

There's no right or wrong answer nor am I looking for an answer to both questions necessarily.

 

I'm just curious.

--CB

[Puppilull]

I met a friend last year and I think our mutual friendship is the answer to both questions. I don't make real friends all that easily, so for me this is an amazing experience. And very nice. LOL

[Ashi]

Great thinking exercise.

 

1)  I don't remember.  Honest answer.  I had to think hard.  Probably a lot that should garner my attention.  My coworkers helped me a lot on my education at work (out of altruism).  My boss gave me the authority to run the office while he was gone (he knew I was in a distressed situation, especially doing a job so much below my education level). 

 

2)  I don't remember either.  Mostly because I don't expect anything back, so it's really nothing to me but it might mean a lot to someone.  And honestly I don't know if anything I have done has special meaning to them.  One I can think of was trying to help a homeless lady filing her income tax (she had work last year), which in turn was actually a favor for a coworker.  It was a very easy thing to do, but it might mean a lot to the homeless lady.  Now I think of it, all the good things I do to people probably is out of personal compensation.  Due to my jobs (one job earlier in this year is especially troublesome to me), we had to do a lot of decision that could affect people's personal well-being (healthcare job)....  Saying the company policy is EXTREMELY rigid is an understatement.  I don't think I've done enough good things to compensate....  Maybe being laid off in that job is a salvation now I have time to reflect.

 

But I see why your friend proposed the questions.  I'll let other people answer the questions first.

[Cia]

I have a friend who does nice things for me and I do nice things for her. The last few years she took me to many appointments, even picking me up at 5 AM to drop me off for outpatient surgery since I couldn't drive myself and my husband had to work (she is not a morning person!). Tomorrow I'll be at her house at 7 AM tomorrow to follow her to the dealership to drop off her car for repairs and then take her elderly dog to the vet for surgery and hang around her all day until one or both are done and she doesn't need a ride. But we've been best friends since we were 6 which basically makes us family, and that's what family does. Still, when I think about what I've done for others and what they've done for me, that sort of thing is what really comes to mind because it's a constant--we're here to make each other's lives easier.

 

Community works is a tenet of my personal beliefs. It's our job to do as much as possible to help our fellow people because that's just the right thing to do. I volunteer countless hours to promote readership and community service at my kids' schools in basic tasks as well as special events and projects. I donate food and drinks and personal care items to homeless people when it's safe to do so (dollar store toothbrushes, mini toothpastes, deodorant, and sanitizer wipes in a baggie can make a person feel just a little more human). We donate toys at the holidays and make cards for the elderly in care homes who might not have visitors. You never know when treating people like they matter to you, even if they're a stranger, might be the nicest thing that's happened to them in that day, that week, or that year.

[MrM]

I don't take stock of nice things done, generally. There's any number of times I've had my friends help me and I help them lately. Its family. We all need each other because we're all we've got really...

[C B]

I don't take stock of nice things done, generally. There's any number of times I've had my friends help me and I help them lately. Its family. We all need each other because we're all we've got really...

 

 

It's not a matter of taking stock...it's a matter of acknowledging that someone cares enough to do something nice regardless of their relation to you or vice versa. (My intent was not for this not to be a vanity post If that is how it came across...I will edit the topic)

Edited July 24, 2016 by C B

[glitteryantlers]

The nicest thing what someone had done for me was when I woke up with a stiff neck. It was very painful, I couldn't go to work either. She came over and gave me a massage and manual therapy of some sort. We both have little children, so she spent almost the entire day with her little son with us. It was a good experience despite of the pain, because a friendship is forming between us.

 

I'm working currently as a babywearing counselor and most of the time I'm helping families to make their own right choice.

[Puppilull]

I didn't see it as a vanity post. Too often we only remember the bad things that happen, so to reflect on the good is... well, good! LOL

[Reader1810]

It's not a matter of taking stock...it's a matter of acknowledging that someone cares enough to do something nice regardless of their relation to you or vice versa. (My intent was not for this not to be a vanity post If that is how it came across...I will edit the topic)

 

Personally, I like that you've started this thread C B. It's always nice to read about the good things people do for one another rather than the bad things.

Edited July 24, 2016 by Reader1810

[MrM]

It's not a matter of taking stock...it's a matter of acknowledging that someone cares enough to do something nice regardless of their relation to you or vice versa. (My intent was not for this not to be a vanity post If that is how it came across...I will edit the topic)

 

Oh no sweetie. I didn't take it like that. I was actually responding because I tried to think back to answer the question and my days have been so random and squished together lately, I actually can't remember a lot that I've done or I've had done for me. It just seems to merge into one general feelign of overall goodness. I haven't had that most my life! It is a blessing. its why being in a good community can be so important. 

 

I think its a great thing to be able to remember specific things. I wish I could! The more we do for others as we do for ourselves the better our world will be. I think its the answer to heaven. To...just love one another enough to share and take care of each other.

 

I know I must sound like a pollyana rube...trust me, I know hardship. Its just that the past year or so since joing the gay community has shown me that there can be love and support there and its very important for us all to find and contribute to that in any way we can.

 

I'm sorry for the the lack of clarity in my previous post. I didn't explain myself at all well.

[Ashi]

I think the purpose of the thread isn't about vanity, but whether you took time to appreciate what others have done for you.  Give something back rather than just receiving.  That's what I thought when I read CB's thread anyways.

[C B]

Oh no sweetie. I didn't take it like that. I was actually responding because I tried to think back to answer the question and my days have been so random and squished together lately, I actually can't remember a lot that I've done or I've had done for me. It just seems to merge into one general feelign of overall goodness. I haven't had that most my life! It is a blessing. its why being in a good community can be so important. 

 

I think its a great thing to be able to remember specific things. I wish I could! The more we do for others as we do for ourselves the better our world will be. I think its the answer to heaven. To...just love one another enough to share and take care of each other.

 

I know I must sound like a pollyana rube...trust me, I know hardship. Its just that the past year or so since joing the gay community has shown me that there can be love and support there and its very important for us all to find and contribute to that in any way we can.

 

I'm sorry for the the lack of clarity in my previous post. I didn't explain myself at all well.

 

No need for explanation. No worries.

 

I still haven't answered my own questions...

[MrM]

No need for explanation. No worries.

 

I still haven't answered my own questions...

 

I think that's where I'm kind of coming from. Depending on how one lives their lives, those two questions aren't easy to answer.

 

Those of us who are outwardly focused often can't remember things they've done or have been done for them. They are always looking to the *next* opportunity to help or trying to solve the next problem that might require help from someone else.

 

Its praiseworthy to 'push out' whenever you can. Life is best lived by living outside ourselves. We do not find ourselves by looking on the inside but by looking outward.

 

This has been a public service announcement by the AD Councel

Edited July 25, 2016 by MrM

[C. When]

Nothing nice I've done for others has seemed significant to me but I can't know the importance of my actions as they are to others. I generally try to be nice and pleasant to others, since I know from experience that a kind act or a bright smile can make a bad day less bad.

 

As for things others have done for me... One of my college professors helped me get an internship that led to a job in a field that is dwindling in this state. This put to rest quite a few of my worries. Maybe, someone I can add someone teaching me how to form sentences in comprehensible manner someday. 

[Thorn Wilde]

Nicest anyone's done for me would have to be the support my mum has been giving me, both financially and morally, while I've been struggling with my depression and making bad calls. That's the kind of unconditional love you think only exists in storybooks. My mum isn't perfect, but she's always been there for me.

 

Nicest thing I've done for someone else, I don't really know. I guess it could be going over to my friends' house to cook them dinner as they've just had a baby and I thought they could use an afternoon without other domestic responsibilities on top of that. It wasn't entirely altruistic, though, as I did want to meet the baby.

[MrM]

Nicest anyone's done for me would have to be the support my mum has been giving me, both financially and morally, while I've been struggling with my depression and making bad calls. That's the kind of unconditional love you think only exists in storybooks. My mum isn't perfect, but she's always been there for me.

 

Nicest thing I've done for someone else, I don't really know. I guess it could be going over to my friends' house to cook them dinner as they've just had a baby and I thought they could use an afternoon without other domestic responsibilities on top of that. It wasn't entirely altruistic, though, as I did want to meet the baby.

 

 

Thorn, you just reminded me. I did the very same thing for my friend last week. He'd had a seisure a week ago Monday and I cooked him food enough for a few days so he'd have something decent to eat whilst convalescing. But...see? I'd already forgotten it!

Nothing nice I've done for others has seemed significant to me but I can't know the importance of my actions as they are to others. I generally try to be nice and pleasant to others, since I know from experience that a kind act or a bright smile can make a bad day less bad.

 

As for things others have done for me... One of my college professors helped me get an internship that led to a job in a field that is dwindling in this state. This put to rest quite a few of my worries. Maybe, someone I can add someone teaching me how to form sentences in comprehensible manner someday. 

 

You write beautifully! I can understand what you say, you use full sentences WITH punctuation and you spell much better than I do!