Today I was reading Russell Brands new book, Revolution, taking it a chapter at a time for proper digestion and maximum comprehension and retainability. I was sitting outside of the classroom I was about to sit through, visibly engaged in my book, attempting to ignore the drudgery of morons talking on their phones with the speaker on for whatever God forsaken reason they might have conjured up for themselves. The chapter in question referenced acts of kindness. Brand writes, If I feel sad or agitated, I check myself and think, Hang on, Russell, have you done anything for anyone but yourself today? Shockingly, the answer is sometimes No, then I immediately hurl myself into enforced altruism, inflicting my aid on anyone in the vicinity. He goes on to write The super-Jedi level of advanced altruists is when you do a kindly act and dont get found out [...] if you tell anyone, it doesnt count. As I read further, I began to ponder these statements with respect to my own life. I admitted to myself that Ive felt a mild streak of impatience, of blandness and colorlessness, of agitation and futility--not in alarming doses, mind you, but its presence has been undeniable nevertheless, as much Ive been ignoring it and telling myself everything is fine and dandy. And I also realized I hadnt done anything overtly kind for anyone in a while. At that exact instant (I exaggerate not, it was literally that same instant), a man in a motorized wheelchair came by carrying a heavy backpack and asked me to assist him in strapping it to the back of his chair. I gladly obliged. He thanked me with a clear display of gratitude and went about his day. I had done my good deed for the day, and here it had been, handed to me on a silver platter. And here I am telling you about it, because the fact that it was handed to me freely means it shouldnt count and by revealing this event, I am nullifying its validity, thereby compelling me to continue to search for an opportunity to be kind today and for days ahead. But more importantly, Im telling you all this because this was clearly a sign. Its no secret that Im not religious aside a murky belief in an ill-defined and ambiguous Creator, and calling me spiritual would earn you from me little more than a smirk and a cocked eyebrow; regardless, know that in life, there are signs and signals and that sometimes, theyre gifts. Next time you see a sign, dont worry about whether its spiritual or coincidental in nature. Decipher its message or content, incorporate it as its meant to be, and feel just a little closer to complete for the day. Life doesnt tell you what to do very often, but when it does, you had better listen up.
Posted on: Tue, 04 Nov 2014 18:11:21 +0000