A Word and a Kiss Can Change the World Forever

Stand silent and listen. If you hear laughter in the wind, then perhaps you are hearing the echoes of your own heart, for there is silence in mine.  The sun shines on one land, but hides in the next, leaving a misconception that all is happy and none is sad.

 

"Be careful", said the angel, as she warned the beautiful child.  "One cannot know the world by the sound of only their heart, alone."

 

"But," said the child, and confused by these words, "I don't understand."  She thought for a few seconds and added.  "How can this be?" 

 

She closed her eyes and lifted her face toward the sky.  "The sun warms me all over.  I can hear the birds sing…and the smell of the flowers is so sweet."  She opened her eyes, outstretched her arms and twirled like a ballerina, looking horizon to horizon, and taking in all she could.  "The animals graze.  They run and play, and look so happy.  And, the sun shines as far as I can see." 

 

She stopped and looked back at the angel with a smile on her face and a hint of confusion in her eyes.  "How can this be?”  She asked.  “That I can see, hear, smell and taste happiness everywhere I look and it not be all these things?”

 

“Oh, child.”  The angel said, as she softly shook her head.  “You see what you see, and you perceive them to be, but things are not always what they seem.  Look again, and look hard.”  The angel pointed toward her neighbor’s land.  “Yes, his sun is the same as yours, but clouds are many and change.  Today, yours are few and don’t block the sun, but his are many and the land’s not quite as bright as yours.”  She held the child’s head between both hands as she gently leaned forward and kissed her forehead.  “Know in your heart,” the angels pointed and touched the girl’s chest, “that your neighbor’s heart beats separate from yours.”

 

The child’s eyes changed, her smile reversed, and a tear dropped onto her cheek.  “Now,” she said as she looked into the angel’s eyes, “I am so sad and don’t know what to do.”

 

“Shhh,” the angel said softly and smiled, “don’t be sad.”  She then placed her hands on the child’s shoulders and gently turned her toward her neighbors land.  “Be happy and smile,” she comforted her, “and call your neighbor’s name as you bring both hands to your lips, and blow a kiss toward his home.”  The angel gently let go.

 

The child sweetly called her neighbor’s name, brought the fingers of both hands to her lips, kissed, and blew as she moved both hands away toward his home.  Then, like magic, the clouds moved apart as her breath blew past.

 

“Ah!” The child gasped, as she saw the clouds separate, then quickly turned to the angel, smiling in amazement.

 

“See.” said the angel, as she slowly lifted away.  “Forever remember, that not all is always what it seems.  And, the sound of a kind word and a kiss can change the world in an instant.”  Then, she smiled and added as she vanished from sight, “Be sure to say hello to your neighbor and tell him you love him, every day.”