Kindness

A bit confused about this whole kindness thing thanks to Covid-19.

Fucking disease changes everything.

A lot of news programs show a sappy happy story at the end. You know, the cute kid shit or feisty grandma shit or nice guy in the neighborhood shit.

After a half hour of murder and rape and robbery and child abuse and overdoses and domestic violence they feature a story coated in sugar.

I hate that shit because for every act of kindness there are 100,000 acts of viciousness.

At least I used to hate that shit.

I find myself more receptive these days.

So much misery in the world right now; mountains of suffering. People losing family members and friends and co-workers; losing jobs, losing businesses, unable to get unemployment benefits or health insurance, haven't received the stimulus money yet.

People who are lost and broken and do not know what to do or where to turn.

I see that and can't comprehend the enormity of it. But I also see countless stories of kindness and caring and love.

People donating food and time and supplies and necessities, people helping the homeless and the aged, people helping kids, people helping the handicapped and the sick. People going out of their way to help other people.

I am so blown away. I recognize the selflessness of the givers and I empathize deeply with the gratefulness of those being helped.

Now I understand the sugar coated stories. We need those. We need to reconnect every day with our own humanity. Because life, the absolute core of life, is about feeling and family and caring and emotions; not jobs and money and careers and cars and houses.

The living of life, the actual leaving the house every day to provide and survive, that distorts perspective and damages the soul. Kindness replenishes the soul.

Kindness does not have to combat evil to be of value. Kindness just has to be, it has to exist. Maybe the ratio of bullshit to kindness is 100,000 to 1 but that one act stands on its own.

It makes you smile. It makes you feel good inside.

My perspective used to be that there are a helluva lot more assholes in the world than there are good people.

I am starting to think that doesn't matter. The good people, the kind people are the ones that count.

They are the soul of humanity.