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Time for a rant. It’s been a while.
I am continually amazed and frustrated by our common lack of concern and care for other human beings. Everyone has excuses: “I’m too busy”; “Too involved”; “I don’t want to get involved for fear of recrimination”; “I’ve become bitter and don’t care anymore”; or my favorite, “I don’t have any money, either.”
My question is, what if were you or yours that needed some sort of of assistance? What would your expectations be and what have you put out there? The tables change drastically then. Then, all we hear about is how no one did a thing, no one was willing to help.
Apathy begets apathy. Karma exists.
I’m not saying there aren’t good people out there that do good in the world every day, there are millions of them. They don’t blow their own horns, they don’t do it for the glory or recognition. They do it for the personal satisfaction they feel when they know that they have helped someone survive this messed up process we call life, if only for one more day.
During my “Boot Camps,” one of my standard goals is to find someone that needs a kindness, and offer it. This isn’t something that I only do once in a while – I strive to do this every single day. It doesn’t always come back in the way we want or in our time frame, but I promise that it does, if you chose to acknowledge it, respect it for what it is.
Yesterday, I encountered a situation where some people required assistance, and so I offered mine. It wasn’t a conscious decision, it was necessity, because I could not have gotten up this morning and faced my reflection in the mirror had I not done all that I possibly could. This kindness has already come back to me in spades. Not only do I feel great about my accomplishment, someone else has reached out to me in my time of need and is helping me to improve my life.
Is the return always immediate? Certainly not. It may be years before your good deeds come full circle. But that isn’t the point. The point is to try. We may fail, but that the failure itself teaches us what to avoid if we are wise enough to learn from our mistakes.
The world doesn’t always need grandiose gestures. Sometimes it’s as simple as saying “Thank you for the job you do”; “I need you”; “I want you”, “You are valuable”; or even “I see your struggle and although I can’t help in the way you need, I’ll stay by your side and hold your hand when it’s really hard.” Sometimes it’s picking up someone’s coffee for them, or just listening when they have hit the ropes and they really need to rant about how unfair it is.
One of my mom’s favorite quotes was, “No man is an island.” As a child, I never understood what it meant. But these days, it resonates with me. You can’t do it alone, shouldn’t do it alone. But yet we expect those we don’t know or don’t particularity care for to do so.
I don’t necessarily have the solution, I just know that I have a compulsion to try. I struggle daily with being in a position where it would be so easy to say, “I’m just too busy.” I REFUSE to give in to that. I REFUSE to allow Karma to put me and mine on that list of the uninterested!
What will you choose today? And tomorrow, for that matter? I’ve already made my choice.