There are moments in life when words reach beyond the page and press against the heart. This morning, I read an obituary that did just that. It was for a woman named Elaine Le Hartenbower Karr, and though I never had the pleasure of knowing her, her final words to the world left me feeling as though I had.
At the end of her obituary, instead of a request for flowers, Elaine asked something simple but profound: Offer a random act of kindness to a good cause or someone in need. And then, as if signing off on a letter to all who loved her, she left us with this: “I’ll love you always! Miss you a lot! Don’t forget to be happy. Hug those you love. I’m going soaring with the Eagles.”
What a beautiful farewell.
It got me thinking—what if we all took those words to heart? What if, instead of waiting for grand moments to change the world, we found small ways to make someone’s day a little brighter? The kindness Elaine asked for costs nothing but can mean everything. A smile. A coffee paid forward. A listening ear. A moment of patience in an impatient world.
We live in times that often feel weighed down with division, struggle, and uncertainty. But kindness—true, unselfish, unexpected kindness—is a force that lifts, just as Elaine’s words lifted me this morning. It reminds us that, even in loss, love does not vanish. It carries forward, as strong as the hands that reach out to help another.
So today, in honor of Elaine and all the people who have left this world but never our hearts, let’s do what she asked. Let’s offer a random act of kindness, not because we have to, but because we can. Let’s hug those we love a little tighter, share laughter without hesitation, and find happiness in the everyday moments.
And when the time comes for each of us to say goodbye, may we all have lived in a way that leaves behind a message as warm, as wise, and as full of love as hers.
Rest easy, Elaine. We’ll carry your kindness forward.
