We have all crappy weeks. They’re a fact of life. Last week was crappy for me. Not the crappiest week ever. Not even the crappiest week recently. But last week was different. On top of the crappy things that occurred, there were a couple of events that triggered some negative memories and made me somewhat introspective.
One on my Facebook friends posed a question on her wall that triggered a memory of my birthday last year. It was a celebration that came to an abrupt end. Oddly enough, the question had absolutely nothing about birthdays or the events surrounding the disaster that became my birthday. Long story short, a complete stranger took it upon himself to interrupt the joy of the day and my intimate partner’s bizarre reaction to the situation completely sabotaged the day for me. Incidentally, my birthday is coming up this month.
I make a point to practice random acts of kindness. Up until I was inspired to write this post, I was going to write about a random act of kindness that I received recently. Don’t worry, it’s forthcoming. Earlier this year, I was criticized on more than one occasion for practicing random acts of kindness. This person views themselves as a compassionate individual. In each case, I found myself explaining why I extended a helping hand to the person in need. I simply can’t wrap my head around why anyone who views themselves as compassionate would have such thoughts, let alone articulate them. Yesterday, I donated two hours of my time to a person in dire need which might bear some fruit. Leaving a social event in downtown Denver last night, two women were walking toward me hand in hand next to each other in the middle of the sidewalk. I moved on to the street to avoid running into them and one of the women thanked me. I then told them, “I wanted you two to keep holding hands.” Both of the women beamed and thanked me almost in unison. These women were obviously in love and there are religious fanatics in this country who wish to criminalize their public display of affection. Not only do I support them, but I wish I had that they have!
Writing this blog post has been cathartic. Keeping the big picture in mind, I have much to be thankful for. I’m in excellent health save for my waning whiplash-related injuries, I am debt free and financially secure, I have a well paying job and marketable skills should I lose that job, and I am a long term, big picture thinker. I’ve experienced chronic pain to some degree for the past five months which has impacted my life and attitude at times, but that chapter of my life is almost over. Summer hiking and concert season is almost here, which is my meditation.
Today is the start of a new week.
