August AtoZ: Kindness of Strangers
These song lyrics have been on my mind all weekend:
Bright before me
The signs implore me:
Help the needy and show them the way.
Human kindness is overflowing,
and I think it’s gonna rain today.~Bette Midler, BEACHES
The letter “K” was meant to be dishing on the Kardashian fascination. Because clearly, I don’t get it. I mean, I know I don’t follow the news much anymore, but they are famous for WHAT exactly? EXACTLY. So that would’ve been fun.
This SHOULD read… “I’m not going to call the police because my neighbor will probably do it.”
Instead, though, I thought I’d skip back a few steps and review a previous post I did on Moral Dystopia. In this piece, I cried out to readers to step up the action and make me believe in human decency once again. Today, I want to say THANK YOU for making me stop hating people for a few days.
Don’t worry. As soon as I finish writing this post, the snark will be back on and the anger will have returned, I assure you. Wouldn’t want me to get too overly sappy or else I might come across as CONTENT or something. And then where would I head in my journey for personal growth? Stagnation City, my home-skillet.
The Kindness of Strangers.
Unanticipated and well-timed, I couldn’t have asked for better “I’ve never even met you IRL” friends. Last couple weeks I’ve had some personal issues with which to deal. I needed advice, I needed a shoulder, I needed understanding, I needed support, I needed feedback… I got all this and more.
My peeps — my “tribe” so to speak (although I don’t want to confuse this with my ACTUAL tribe!) — my inner circle — my mentors and buddies. You know who you are. I thank you from the bottom of my heart. You saved me from the worst of days, just by responding to my emails. And you probably didn’t even know it!
In my post on Moral Dystopia, I talked about doing what’s right, standing up, speaking out, lending a hand. I couldn’t have known, as I wrote those words, that they would would be so personal just a short time later.
Here’s what I learned from the Kindness of Strangers:
— When people say, “Call anytime!”… sometimes they really mean it. I’m not the only person who sincerely utters this phrase. I know without a doubt that if I called these individuals at 3am, they would absolutely NOT be pissed about it. I’d never do it, but knowing I COULD makes me feel infinitely better.
— When you save someone, you become personally responsible for them. Which in turn saves you. I didn’t know that last part till recently. We have saved each other. There is not debt. Only friendship. That’s pretty fucking cool.
— When you are open, some people are going to hurt you. Duh. But many more will respond in kind by relating to the history in your truthfulness. This isn’t a new concept, but it’s one thing to KNOW it and quite another to see it happening to you. Karma. Magnets — like attracts like.
— And speaking of honesty, if you’ve chosen the right people to lean on, you can say, “I need your help,” and they will actually be happy to assist. Because, as they pointed out to me multiple times, that’s just what friends do. Your heart knows what’s right, and you listen to it. I have a servant’s heart, myself — I love being able to gift someone, either with presents or assistance or just a hug — it’s truly awesome to be able to GIVE just the right thing to someone in need. Finding others who also have a servant’s heart… well I just wasn’t expecting that! What a pleasant surprise.
And now, because I promised Mary I’d be back to my persnickety self this week, I have to throw in some completely unnecessary cussage (it’s a word! Note to self — add “cussage” to vocab page!):
I fucking LOVE you guys! You aren’t douche-nuggets in any sense of the word! And also? Thanks for not being bitches. No, for realz. I mean that, boys and girls. xoxo
PS – My hubz said this post sounded suicidal or divorce-ish, and he feels I should emphasize the fact that (a) I’m not looking for the psych ward (YET, haha!), and (b) he isn’t in trouble. So just to clarify: Everything is fine, and life is peachy, and I shall continue to “kickin’ down the cobble stones, lookin’ for fun and feelin’ groovy…”
PPS – FACT: “59th Street Bridge Song” by Simon & Garfunkel = Best song EVER. Bet you didn’t know that’s the Andi-Roo theme song. You should totally buy my personal life soundtrack. You know you want it. It costs a mere $5,000,000. ba-ha-ha!
AtoZ August 2012 — A Month of Controversy
Throughout the money of August 2012, my dear friend Aaron @dadblunders and I are doing a dry run of the Blogging From A to Z Challenge. This past April was my first official participation in such activity, and I had no idea what I was doing. No theme, no forethought, purely spur-of-the-moment. This time around, I have a plan. Join the fun!
For this event, I am engaging in a month of controversy. Consider yourself forewarned.