The Gift of Surprise Hospitality

Some bruschetta I made for our surprise guests.  

*I decided to sing Somewhere Over the Rainbow because we need some beautiful times, times where we can focus on what brings us together.

Positive Pensées

Kathy King

“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”  Gandhi

 

The Gift of Surprise Hospitality. 

To be hospitable takes love and grace.

To make your home available in a variety of ways. 

Whether it is a meal, tea, or conversation to share.

Hospitality is a way to show someone that you care. 

In a world where politeness and manners are sparse.

Hospitality shows friends or strangers the decency and decorum of the human heart. 

So the gift of hospitality even if it is a surprise can be both a gift and an amazing contribution in another human’s eyes. 

Hospitality, geniality, words of comfort and perhaps some food to share.

After all when you give the gift of hospitality, you could be entertaining angels unawares. 

The dictionary defines hospitality as: the friendly and generous reception and entertainment of guests, visitors or strangers. How do we navigate hospitality in a time where the world wide bug is still a concern and to put it frankly, social media is a huge source of negative information. The news is just so very sad. It really seems as if our nation is deeply divided at the moment. Recently I saw a meme that said, “Turn off the news, go out and love your neighbor.” Does that not ring resoundingly true?  How many people that you know, or are acquainted with, who actually want to sow division daily?  Sure, there are those who complain and moan, but actual people that want to cause strife and division, do you know anyone like that consistently?  I would argue that those kinds of folks are few and far between.  What do most people want? Peace. Food, warmth, clothing, a better future for their family, money in the bank, a country that lives in harmony regardless of their political and religious beliefs. That is the decency of the human spirit. Recently I read that the majority of hateful content that is spread on the web is only from about seven percent of the population!  Just seven. That does give me some reassurance concerning humanity.  Recently our family had a surprise guest.  Our son invited his long-time friend for dinner.  I admit, at first I was annoyed.  Dinner was planned, the meat was out.  We had to scramble to make additional food.  As our family was sitting around the table laughing and in the words of my late father-in-law, “communing and being eatful” a realization came over me.  Instead of being annoyed at the surprise guest, my son’s knowledge that our home was a welcoming place for his friends where they can visit, eat and feel comfortable in our home.  Giving to others can help so very much and it warms your spirit as well. Hospitality is a contribution to the lives of others and hopefully in turn, they will give that gift to others who are in need of accommodation and warmth.