Random Acts of Kindness

I stepped outside this morning before the sun came up. Once I got passed the chill of the morning, the first thing I noticed was that not only was there no fog, the early morning sky held very few clouds. I could see the stars twinkling faintly. What a peaceful and welcome sight that was! It’s the last day of my long weekend. Tomorrow I’ll be back to my normal routine…no more casual drives to Starbuck’s on my way to the beach…no more hour long writing sessions and picture taking before breakfast…it’ll be back to the mundane sensation of working in Corporate America. Don’t get me wrong, I like my job and love the people I work with but the whole concept of rearranging the whole of my life to show up early every day and make just enough to cover the rent, the car payment and daycare is frustrating.

I’ve always been a rebellious conformist. I do what is necessary to conform to societies graces, normal life, but my heart isn’t in it. I love the pay check, don’t get me wrong but its not as fulfilling as some of the other things I’d rather be doing. I guess maybe one aspect of my passion is being worked in that I’ve got a large customer base that I work tirelessly to make happy. Another aspect of my passion is alive every day in that each day I show up, I learn something I didn’t know the day before. I’ve also got a job at the present that allows me a little time during the day to stay up on world events, keep up with the happenings in my co-worker’s lives and to be there with a shoulder or an ear when they run into something a little too challenging. I’ve always had a steady line of people showing up in my office for coffee talk first thing in the morning and that’s also a part of my job I enjoy.

I guess I just really love people. They amaze me and frustrate me interchangeably sometimes but for the most part, I could not learn as much as I do without different people showing up at my door with an interesting issue or challenge they need help with. Life can be like a giant puzzle sometimes. There are so many things to do, to see, to experience and to feel. There are so many lessons, so many opportunities to learn something new and different facets of love to learn about. I guess I’ve had so many “guides” show up on my path at just the right time and with just the right words to help me get my thinking back on track that I really enjoy paying that forward. In fact, I often look for opportunities to pay forward a kindness, words or even a simple smile.

Life can be really amazing even when things don’t seem to be going right. If you stop long enough to try to see things objectively, you’d be amazed at the simple lessons that can be learned and how clear things can get when you’ve not trapped yourself in crazy-making emotions. As human beings we’re often ruled by emotions and such emotions can actually cloud your thinking. But, if you take a moment and sit with emotion for a time and let the waves recede a little bit and maybe quiet you mind, your doubts and fears, the answers seem to come to the surface pretty quickly and if they don’t the right people will show up to help point you in the right direction.

My thoughts for today are along the lines of random acts of kindness, looking for silver linings and finding hope even when a situation seems hopeless. Be a friend to someone today. Make eye-contact with and smile at a stranger today for no other reason than you can. Let the people around you know how much they mean to you directly or indirectly. You might be amazed at how such things can bring a smile to you that seems to come from your very soul. Have a beautiful day!