Thoughtul Thursday: Reflecting on the Kindness of Others

Artist Kat with Gibson and his artistic likeness.

It's hard to believe, and it does sound very clichéd, but time sure does fly by. It seems life gets so busy at times caring for our families and furkids, jobs, school, ailing and rehabilitating furkids, our own health issues, and so many of life's commitments, while we intended to do something, we sometimes carry it around in our mind until we have the actual time to put it into practice. Such is the case of today's blog. While I am late in posting this, the timing of such a story is never ending. And since it's May...a time of renewal and holidays such as Mother's Day, May Day, Memorial Day, graduations, weddings, and all things pertaining to celebrations and gifts, it actually is a perfect time to talk about about a gift that was so thoughtful and meaningful, I needed to share the story behind it and thought, no time like the present to do so!

The OP PACK at TheChroniclesofWoos.blogspot.com

Back in December, during the heighth of the Christmas gift giving season, I featured a new pet artist, Kathleen Burger a/k/a "Kat" of Kat N' Kanine (who also works for our fabulous veterinary hospital, the Kingston Animal Hospital), surprised me with a beautiful portrait of my Gibson she painted on the side of one of our vet's buildings that they were renovating. (Click HERE for full story). I was so touched by her thoughtfulness of painting such a wonderful likeness of my Gibson to become part of the vet's property. I brought Gibson over and shot photos of him with Kat and KAH owner and one of our vets, Dr. Arnold Rugg, in front of the outdoor portrait for a December blog post. As a special treat, Kat offered to do a complimentary portrait as a  prize for a giveaway I had conducted through Rafflecopter, which Blogger pals The OP Pack of the Chronicles of Woos blog won in the random drawing.

All sounds just wonderful and full of seasonal cheer, right? Well...it gets even better!

After notifying the OP Pack that they won the random drawing...they in turn did something remarkable and very caring...they paid their win forward by gifting the prize to another Blogger family - The Portuguese Water Blog (PWB) family, who the OP Pack family felt could certainly use it more because at that time, they had sadly just lost two of their furbabies - their beloved Samba and Sky - and the OP Pack wanted to bring them some cheer during what was a very sad time for them. The OP Pack Hu-Mom sent an Email to a very surprised PWB Hu-Mom telling of the regifting. You can read thhis story shared by the PWB Hu-Mom by visiting their blog post HERE.

Soon after contacting Kat, the PWB Hu-Mom couldn't

Kat's portrait of Samba and Sky.

decide which of her two beloved babies to have painted and left the choice up to Kat. And here is where the story gets even better still...Kat surprised her with a beautiful portrait of both dogs!

I still get chills thinking of the chain of events that created this tale of human compassion and kindness no matter which angle you are looking at. In a world where we too often hear sad and heartbreaking stories, it was so nice to be part of one that was so uplifting and kind. While it's so difficult to lose a beloved furpal, let alone two, by the thoughtful actions of others, hopefully it brought some comfort and a little cheer to someone at a time when they really needed it.

I know Kat, the artist personally, and she is an extremely talented and kind gal! The portrait is beautiful. And I know the OP Pack Hu-Mom, like many of you, through our wonderful "town" of Bloggerville. This giveaway will always hold a special place in my heart because it was done in the true spirit of giving. So during this spring season of gift giving, celebrations, and rebirth - when it gets hectic and you are feeling pressured because you simply can't find the right outfit or gift or fret about the time it will take to attend one of your upcoming events, let's remember this story of not one, but several human beings reaching out to bring some joy to another...for no other reason than they simply wanted to from the very goodness of their hearts.

As I stated in my original blog post about the drawing, perhaps author Harold Kushner did indeed say it best, “When you carry out acts of kindness you get a wonderful feeling inside. It is as though something inside your body responds and says, yes, this is how I ought to feel.”

Yes, I believe this is exactly how it ought to feel.