Living in Love Award: Submission: Let’s Face It…
It seems there is another contender for the Living in Love Award. The first step to earning the Award is producing one Random Act of Kindness and blogging about it. Please check out, Now is the Beginning, for her first submission.
I’m angry and I’m bitter. I prefer staying home to going out. I prefer being alone to having company (with the exception of Hub). When I do have to go out, I get angry because a lot of the people around me are just immature and aggravating.
Yet, I do have to pick myself up and go out sometimes. The store, the mall (when Hub drags me along to get new video games) or shopping with La Madre. And when I do go out, despite my aggravation and that itch to be home working or writing, I am nice to (most) people. I hold the doors for people, I pick up things that they knocked off shelves (dishing out a rude comment when they know they dropped it but refuse to pick it up) or clean up when someone spills something (like the idiot in Burger King who spilled her drink and then walked away.) Some of it makes me feel good, other times I’m just more annoyed at their lack of respect and consideration for other people that happen to live in their little bubble of a life.
Sometimes, something happens–something small, usually–that makes me feel like I am a good person. The only witness to these events is myself and the person on the receiving end of this kindness (although sometimes even they are not aware it was me, and I prefer to keep it that way.) I don’t like to draw attention to good deeds because I think it’s a personal thing, something that will be acknowledged by the Universe in the form of kindness coming back my way–besides, I don’t want people thinking I’m going soft or anything!!
Anyway, something happened recently–I don’t remember when it was exactly or what else I bought that day, but I was at BJs with La Madre, one of those warehouse stores where everything is in bulk. Need toilet paper or paper towels? 7,000 rolls in one package! Cereal? Twelve boxes at once! Meat? Buy the cow! Okay, they’re all exaggerations, but you get the idea.
Point being, I go with La Madre everywhere she goes because it’s awesome to hang out with her plus her health is not wonderful and I’m terrified she might fall or someone will run into her into the store, or she’ll have an accident while driving. Among other things, she has a bad back. She fractured it afterI asked for her help pulling something out of the car three years ago. One more heavy lifting experience or a fall and she might be paralyzed.
Again, that’s not the point. Let me get back on track here. I was at BJs with her and we were in the water aisle. They sell 32 bottles of water in one case. It’s kinda heavy, especially if you have a fractured back. So, I was lifting it to put into her cart for her. There was an elderly man next to me, pulling at a case of water. He was by no means weak and probably would have had no problem lifting the case himself, but I was feeling good that day… and I already had the case in my hands.
“Need a case?” I asked him.
“What’s that?” He asked, as if surprised that there was another human being on Earth who could be helpful nowadays.
“Do you need a case of water?”
“Oh, yes!” He was smiling.
“Here ya go,” I said as I placed it gently in his cart (okay, actually it kinda just slipped out of my hands and fell in, but hey, it made it into the cart!)
“Thank you,” he said, smiling at me.
I then walked over and grabbed a case for La Madre. “That was nice,” she said. She always acknowledges these things. I just smiled. Maybe it was nice, maybe it was kind, but I wasn’t thinking of that when I did it. I was just thinking ‘this man could hurt himself. He probably won’t, but he might. I’m going to help him out. I’m young and not that strong but if I get hurt, it’ll heal.’ No offense to the older generation, but sometimes injuries don’t heal as well as they do in younger people. So, I was thinking that it’s no big deal if I sprain my wrist or hurt my back, at least someone else will be able to avoid the injury and go on with their lives. Besides, he probably has grandchildren that want him to pick them up and I’d hate to be the reason that couldn’t happen if I just stood by and watched him do it himself.
I don’t know if I’m ‘living in love’; carrying out my anger and bitterness probably doesn’t help. But I can say this: when a person is in need, I help. If someone is trying to reach something on the top shelf, it doesn’t matter that I’m only 5’2 and probably shorter than the person reaching, I’ll climb those damn shelves to get it for them if they can’t do it. Or I’ll use my mom’s cane to smack it down. (Yeah, I’ve done that, and it was amusing for all involved.)
If only everyone could be as kind as the many people on this Earth who don’t hesitate to do a good deed once in a while. Believe me, it feels great. Try it!
Generosity comes in many forms. We can be generous with our youth, our mobility and our strength. You seem kind of hard on yourself, but I would say that it is the consistency in which we act which should be the judge. If you are willing to be generous with your spirit consistently, then you certainly do Live in Love.
This is a refreshingly honest statement of what living in love feels like to a real person. It isn’t always altruistic, although often it is. And love isn’t always accompanied by feelings of purity and forgiveness; in fact, not always even close. But, nevertheless, this author elects to set aside whatever frustration, or annoyance, or sadness that is going on in life, in order to perform this one small large kind act. Beautiful!
love is the essence of life