In continuation of my seven-part series on the Gateways to ENCHANTMENT. This time we look at living a life-seeing that acts of kindness and good deeds make life worth living!

This Gateway is the gateway of positive action, or “Why Not Do A Good Deed, It Can’t Hurt!”
 
We're all faced with bouts of discouragement, letdowns and disappointments, and for women, certainly the cycle of life itself has its ups and downs. Anyone fortunate enough to have longevity on her side will inevitably sustain losses and disappointments. None of the Gateways to Enchantment can totally prevent a person from the necessary bumps and grinds of life, but what they do provide are mechanisms not only with which to pick ourselves up heroically, but to strengthen ourselves and make the world a better place for us. One of the very best ways to do this is through positive action. I look at positive action in three ways.
 
For one thing, it's good practice to take positive action, whether it's about a personal issue in your own life, or to help others. This forces us to practice timeliness, good behaviors, and often good logic and decision-making.

Secondly, taking positive action can definitely help offset loneliness, letdown feelings, and feelings of discouragement. It does this by the act of pushing us into connecting with people, sharing with people and having the opportunity to experience the happiness shared by others when they are affected by something positive that we do. The cliché, “A smile is more infectious than a frown,” definitely holds true in this case.
 
Thirdly, doing positive action helps us to grow emotionally and spiritually. All the great religions of the world and the great thinkers encourage positive action and good deeds as a way of stretching our own capacities as human beings. These effects can be permanent. Think about Helen Keller, a woman who took the steps to positive action, to learn to speak and share her wisdom over a lifetime, even though she herself was profoundly deaf and blind. She not only created a much fuller life and a better world for herself, but she created hope and inspiration for those whom she touched. Even now, many years after her death, her courageous example sends out mentoring lessons of inspiration throughout the world.