Lately I’ve had a few shockers. I’m spinning a few plates and a couple of them have come dangerously close to dropping. Cortisol has flowed, sleep has been lost, it has not been a laugh a minute.
Now, I don’t know if it’s the universe’s way of providing the Ying to my Yang or what but each time I have a properly shit day, I seem to be presented with opportunities to do a good thing. Help someone with their buggy up the stairs, point out that someone’s bag is undone, give directions to lost tourists (all real life examples), somewhere along the line I’m put in the position of being able to show kindness and compassion, and maybe in some small way make somebody’s day (as a side note, I once helped an elderly lady tourist find her hotel in London and we still exchange emails and once met up in her home town of San Francisco, lovely).
I don’t tell you this as an advert for what a crashingly great bloke I am but rather as an advert for how, even in the depths of a shitty day (and there are plenty of examples of far worse days than yours or mine, stories of human kindness in concentration camps can be found in books such as Man’s Search for Meaning (very short, will probably change your life) and If This Is a Man/The Truce (longer, same)) you can still make a difference and each time you do, the bonus side-effect is a sense of wellbeing.
So dear reader, when you see someone in need, ask “If not me, then who?” help them and thank yourself.
The Good Shit Sticks 