Hello Beautiful Friends!

I am sure you have heard the amazing quote, “ Throw Kindness Around Like Confetti," because it is a beautiful quote that we should be living by!!!!! In the world today we are all so caught up in our own lives that it can be easy to forget that other people are running the crazy race called life too.

We are too busy to actually acknowledge people, right? (actually, we are not, fun fact ;)) It is so important to make people feel acknowledged and loved because no one is 100% all the time, and you could really impact someone with a smile or a compliment.

In my last blog post, I talked about how God is amazing and how through Him we can do anything, and that leads perfectly into this blog post about compliments and loving others! Compliments are something that I think is often overlooked, which is why we should compliment people more.

I know that I can’t make you compliment people, but I challenge you to (DO YOU ACCEPT THIS CHALLENGE?? Or are you chicken?? haha) But seriously, just imagine living in a world full of compliments!! The world would be a happier and kinder place. :)

I got inspired to write this blog post today actually because recently I have been feeling not myself, and I have prayed to get out of this slump and today I finally got out of it!!!!! (A huge thank you to the amazing Lord, of course, I couldn’t have done it without His amazing love)! Here is the incredible story. Get ready…

Today I was in the library after my first class to work on an assignment, and as I was approaching the door to the library, I opened it for the man behind me because I enjoy getting the door for people. I didn’t think much of this action because it’s like second nature to me, but the man was super thankful and kind to me! He said, “Why thank you for getting the door for me, and you have a beautiful smile." When I heard this, I absolutely melted inside because that is such a genuine thing to say to someone (I MEAN DANG RIGHT?).

This guy is living life right, let me tell ya. We walked beside each other for a few steps and then parted ways, and I beamed a smile the whole time, and honestly, I thought about it all day and told all my friends because it made me insanely happy. You might be wondering why this action made me so happy. Well if you are, I will end your curiosity. This action made me insanely happy because giving compliments is such a selfless thing to do.

A random stranger acknowledges something about you that maybe you don’t even see in yourself, and they have the courage to share that with you with the intent of making you happy and smile.

Compliments are selfless acts. This is true with all compliments, I am sure of it!!!!! The really cool thing about compliments is that giving and receiving compliments is such an honor and causes so much excitement and happiness for all people involved. If you can’t tell I am a huge fan of compliments and all that they entail.

I have another story for you because I had an amazing day today, and I know that the Lord was the reason for all of it. I see the Lord in people, so today I just kept seeing Him and I was amazed. :)

Right after I parted ways with the amazing compliment guy, I went to Cafe Libro to get a breakfast sandwich (if you have not tried one, DO IT ASAP, I am obsessed). I was in line and was getting super excited because that is how I always am and when I got to the cash register the wonderful woman said, “You have pretty eyes!" DANG!!! ANOTHER ONE in the span of 10 minutes, God you are surely on a roll.

At this point, I was almost in tears and was blushing, beaming, and so happy! I did not expect all these compliments from complete strangers, but they made my day and helped me change my perspective.

We don’t know what other people are going through. Period. So as people we should strive to make others smile, simply because they could be battling a huge battle and feel alone. They could be depressed, stressed, have anxiety, are scared, unsure, have family problems, money problems, or maybe they don’t feel loved. They could have a multitude of problems. The point is, is that we do not know what other people are going through, so why not be the shining light for them?

If we take a step back and actually remember that people are people and remember they have feelings, then we can positively impact the world --one compliment at a time.

If you change your mindset from judging people by first glance to complimenting people at first glance, you will be amazed at how your outlook on life completely changes.

I hope this helped you see the beauty in compliments and why you should make it a goal to compliment at least one person a day. :)

Love Your Friend,

Lexi Barry:)