Altruism is the word of the day

Today it finally happened. I left my coffee cup on top of the car. I made it about a quarter mile from my house when at a stop sign some crazy thing comes tumbling down my windshield spewing brown fluid! I immediately thought of one of the many zombie movies I have seen in passing while living with Big Daddy. Alas it was only my favorite big Chicago coffee mug with freshly brewed coffee. I stopped the car laughing at the moment and ran back to pick up the shards of my mug. Once back in the car there was a thick layer of frozen coffee on the windshield. The kids and I took this moment to reenact the moment, the monkey likes to do reenactments of most anything. Once I arrived at dear Stacia's house, for breakfast and a kid watching swap for the day for work, I got my cup of coffee with a soft boiled egg and toast. I find I do prefer my coffee maker coffee over press pot. Never thought much of it before now.

Now I need to find a new favorite giant coffee mug.

This was one of those moments that I noted could have made me very grumpy at another time or if I were in irritated mood.

Yesterday I was called by a dear woman who had met a couple of times. She was not a client or anyone I knew well but I did give her my number and told her to call me at anytime is she needed anything. I do this for many folks but few actually take me up on it. She had just had her baby an felt she needed someone to call about some hospital stuff that was going on. I finished up my two massage appointments for the afternoon and headed up to the hospital. She had a complication that needed procedures for resolution. I sat with her and her family helping to navigate the medical professionals and the system. I stayed until the mom was taken for her procedure. I called this morning and they were able to resolve the issue and she was feeling much better and baby is great.

I love my work. I am also happy to say that my "work" is not always for pay. Sometimes I use what I know just to help another person just because. My work helps me keep perspective on the world and life. It is one thing to help a friend or family member for no reason or reward but I want to teach my kids (and myself) that it is also important to help strangers. Sometimes that means more than sending a check to an organization, which is a great thing, but to sit and be with with the people you are helping to understand that we are more than one person we are many people, many different kinds of people with different beliefs, ethics, lifestyles and attitudes. We do not always have to like those we are giving out time to, or agree with them and especially not to expect anything in return including kindness or appreciation. And we do not always have to do something for something be it monetary or personal gain.

The flip side of this is to be able to ask for help or assistance when we need it. We have come to exist in a society where we are all these little individual floating orbs. Cash for services and goods are the name of the game. I personally like the pay it forward mentality. If I do a favor for you just do a favor for me or someone else down the road. Yes, there would be glitches in this system but show me a system without glitches. My dear friend and I have worked on this philosophy for a few years now with childcare and other aspects of work. I am sure there may be an imbalance of who has done what for whom but what does it matter?

There is something much bigger out there, much bigger than me and my cup of coffee.