Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle and the life of a candle will not be shortened.” Buddha

“Happiness never decreases by being shared.”  Buddha

I am a big believer in this tenet and clearly so are the people who comprise my “village.”  Each time I sound the alarm, that there is a need worthy of answering, my neighbors, friends, colleagues and family members line up in droves.  I do believe with all my heart that we ALL want to help others. We all have an innate desire to help, to support, to lessen the pain of those around us. Each day I am reminded of just how vibrant this inclination is within so many I am blessed to know and love.  Throughout all the years of my “rallying calls” and no matter what the need at hand, countless members of all different networks and spheres of mine have come running. Running to offer their time, their gifts, their donations and their love.

My most recent “call to action” was the latest in a series of efforts to give back and to support those within my community. A community for me extends way beyond RI zip codes or town lines, especially when I’ve lived in so many and work as a Realtor in almost all of them! Community knows no borders,  translates in a variety of different ways and is based upon a shared experience. Experiences I have been blessed to share with so many that forever bond us together.

It might be my Save A Lab or City Year community, my Barrington or Brown University communities or my Barrington high alum, La Salle, Governor’s Academy, South Shore Kings, Bridgewater Bandits, PHC, or Friars hockey communities. It may be my Brookline Public School community or my Lesley University or Boston community. No matter what the need, I hear from members of EACH and EVERY community with each “call for support ” I make !!!! How amazing is that?

It’s amazing and it’s reassuring. It reminds us that we ALL are here to help each other. Here to help in small ways and in larger, more “organized” ways. My belief system is based upon the notion that each act of kindness spreads ripples of goodness. Whether it be the look in the eye and the “Thank you” you shared with the bagger at the supermarket, or the offer to hold the door open for someone entering a store to the grand gestures like donating gifts for a family who lost everything in a fire. To me, every little bit counts.

Every bit of goodness sends out ripples of hope. To all of who keep sending that ripple out? I say “thank you.”  For you all are embodying the tenet of Buddha above ….” Thousands of candles can be lighted by a single candle and the life of that candle can never be shortened.”  Keep sharing those lights dear friends…..they are making a difference….a huge one.