The world has been consistently challenging for a while now. No one is exempt from the bizarre rite of passage that this pandemic has offered up. I urge you to please choose love over judgement, togetherness over division. Most people are struggling in ways you know nothing about. Kindness and love are some of the most powerful tools for healing.
Here’s a little poem to remind everyone of the power of small, seemingly insignificant, acts of kindness.
Thank you, Stranger.
Thank you, sweet lady, for pausing what you were doing today,
And losing your spot in the check-out line
to tell me that you thought I was beautiful.
You didn’t know
that I had spent all morning
Talking to myself, saying things like:
“If I just stop eating and drinking,
eventually this body will die,
And I’ll finally be free.”
You didn’t know
My new mantra:
“It’s going to be okay somehow. You’re going to be okay.
You’re going to make it through this hell eventually.
You won’t be here forever.
It’s the basic law of evolution—everything will change.
Just keep breathing. In and out. In and out.
Chop wood; carry water. Eventually something will shift.”
You didn’t know
that I’ve spent the last two years
crying myself to sleep most nights,
feeling the pain of the collective
like a million tiny shards
twisting and turning inside my heart.
You didn’t know
That my heart hurts
From so much loss and grief
Death and transformation
And that everyday
My biggest victory
Is just trying to keep it together
You didn’t know
That right before I walked in here
I was sitting in my car
Debating whether to smash it into the brick wall
You didn’t know
That I had lost faith—
In humanity,
In God,
In myself
You’ll never know
That our 15-second interaction
Sent a teeny, tiny
spark of light
Into the dark cave
That’s been consuming me.
It wasn’t about being told I was beautiful.
It was that you chose to be kind to me
For no reason.
You were just being you—
A lovely stranger with a warm heart and kind eyes.
What was a passing moment for you,
Was a lifeline for me.
I cried again
when I got into my car
But this time,
They were tears of hope—
hope for humanity.
Your sweetness kept me alive today.
I had been a starved wanderer
Lost for countless days
In a mental desert with no food and water.
Your brief gesture—
a morsel of nourishment for my sad heart.
Your kindness kept me alive today.
Thank you,
beautiful stranger.
Your grace kept me alive today.
It is you
That graces this world with real beauty.
