Years ago I recall cutting a small poem out of the paper. I’m sorry I can’t recall if the name of the author was given or not but I still remember part of it…

It said, “A bell is not a bell until you ring it. A song is not a song until you sing it. The love in your heart isn’t put there to stay for love isn’t love til you give it away.”

Don’t know who said it or wrote it, but it is certainly true.

And just the other day, I chanced upon another short and concise truth. “Life is an echo. What you send out comes back.”

Perhaps that is what was meant when we were told to “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

In our society, we also often comment….’what goes around comes around.’ We usually mean that we ‘get what we give’.

I know I’ve said many times over the years that my mother was a very gentle person. She was rarely angry. She would help anyone and everyone she could. And she was always patient with those who sometimes would have tried most folk’s patience.

I recall one Sunday afternoon when she was talking with one of her sisters who remarked that folks at church weren’t very friendly. Mom asked what she meant and was told that rarely did anyone smile or say “Hello”. Mom then asked do you smile and say “Hello”? When the answer was ‘No’, Mom said well why don’t you try it and see if they respond?

I think she must have ascribed to the theory that we ‘get what we give’

I’d never really considered life as an ‘echo’ but as I read those words, I found myself agreeing.

I know if I am having a bad day and offer ‘grumpiness’ I am not usually rewarded with smiles and pleasantries.

I also realize that when I meet someone and they are in a bad mood, I do have a choice in how I respond. If I choose to respond with kindness and gentleness perhaps the echo effect is broken. At least, I hope so.

There are those folks I know who always look at the ‘bright side of life’. They rarely if ever complain. They offer a helping hand when they can. They share the joys and sorrows of others. They are people we love to associate with and I am amazed when they say ‘everyone is so kind to me’. Perhaps this is an echo effect. What they have given has come back to them.

I think the only way that ‘echo effect’ is broken is when someone makes a positive choice to ‘break’ that effect. I am speaking now of a relationship between two folks that has broken down.

Someone has to offer the ‘olive branch’. Will it be accepted and peace restored? Not always, but sometimes.

And sometimes we have a choice to make before relationships are strained. I have always enjoyed some of the sound advice given in Proverbs. Do you recall the verse that says, “ A soft answer turneth away wrath, but grievous words stir up anger.” That is from the King James Version. The Living Bible says the same but a little simpler…”A soft answer turns away wrath, but harsh words cause quarrels.”

If the ‘echo’ effect for life is in effect and we ‘reap what we sow’, I think that we all have the opportunity to redirect our paths in life and perhaps change the outcome.

If we respond in anger, most probably that is the response we may get. If we constantly criticize it is very possible we will get the reputation of being unkind and judgmental. In essence, we will be reaping what we sow.

But the good thing about life is that our behavior isn’t carved in stone. There is nothing that dictates we have to behave in an unkind, angry, judgmental way because others are acting in that manner.

We can choose to live our lives in a more positive manner and hope that our response from others is also more in keeping with out lifestyle and behavior. When it isn’t, it doesn’t give us the right to respond in the manner in which we are treated. We can choose our own response and action.

Yes, I do believe life has an ‘echo’ effect and for the most part we do ‘get’ what we ‘give’. But I also believe with all my heart that the ‘echo’ effect can be broken by how we respond to those who seem belligerent, indigent, and angry.

Maybe we can’t always be the kind, forgiving, gentle, loving person we’d like to be. But we can certainly try and maybe, just maybe, our actions will nudge another person and that ‘echo’ effect of anger might diminish in their life.

I know how imperfect my actions can be but I also know that love offered is most often love that is returned.

It is always amazing to me that a person can do a kindness for another and that person in turn passes the kindness on and suddenly it is returned to you from a different direction…but isn’t that love in action.

Forgiving isn’t always easy. But carrying a grudge for years is hard also and I’ve read it causes not only mental pain but also can cause physical illness.

Just a brief comment about bells…my husband collected cowbells. I still have them…not a lot but maybe eight or ten different styles. They are noisy. We have used them at various celebrations and my little great grandchildren love to ring them. Dylan ties a couple on the rocking horse and then enjoys the racket they make when he rides the horse.

But when no one is ringing those bells, they just sit there and collect dust.

So, I’ve concluded just as the little poem at the beginning of this piece says, a bell becomes a bell when someone rings it. Before that it is a bell but one whose sound reaches no one.

Are we living our lives like that? Are we sitting along the side waiting for someone or something to touch our lives, or are we reaching out to others and trying to the best of our ability to make our world a kinder place.

Are we working to take care of our environment so that our future generations can enjoy the beauty we have? Are we living our lives placing our priorities on people and not things?

Have we offered our prayers of thanks to a loving God and asked for His guidance when we make decisions?

Do we complain about boredom when there is so much that needs to be done?

Do we say folks are unkind or unfriendly when we ourselves never reach out to others or even offer a smile?

If we think our life isn’t all it should be, is it because our life is echoing back our behavior to others?

If so, then in order to break that echo effect in life, perhaps we all need to incorporate more kindness in our own lives. If we need a blueprint to start, we might try the Ten Commandments and the Beatitudes and also some other of Jesus’ teachings.

I may have said this before, but I’ll repeat it. When Bill and I were buying the farm, I remarked that I wasn’t sure I wanted to sign all those legal papers because they were going to make our life very ‘hard’ for some years. One of the older gentlemen reminded me that “God promises a good life, but not a good and easy life.”

Rejoice in the good. Work to overcome injustice. Offer forgiveness and kindness. And watch what kind of echo comes into our life. We might all be surprised.