“You’ve been so kind and generous.”
Those are words from a beautiful song by Natalie Merchant.
I woke up this morning feeling confused. My Alzheimer’s brain seemed to be out of focus. Something felt ‘off.’ I made coffee, hoping it would give me clarity of thought. My hands were trembling so badly that I had to hold my coffee cup with two hands.
As I enjoyed the coffee, I checked my email. I discovered a generous donation had been made overnight. Immediately, I became overwhelmed with gratitude. The donation last night was not the only generous donation we received this week.
As my Alzheimer’s brain slowly woke up and allowed me to think somewhat clearly, Natalie Merchant’s song “Kind and Generous” came to mind.
While petting Big Bit, I suddenly had a jumble of thoughts: my late father’s birthday is a few days away, the healing power of writing, how blessed I am to have Linda as my wife, and how special our cats are. Most importantly, I thought of the generosity of strangers.
The donations this week came from people we do not know. Our connection is my writing. Asking for financial help is a new thing for me. It is not something I take lightly. I hope my writing has value to my readers. If it does have value, then the donation can be seen as compensation for my writing. I feel better knowing I earned money, rather than someone giving me a gift. That odd belief originates from my Southern Baptist upbringing, or maybe from my father’s strict work ethic.
The donations this week go far beyond compensating me for my writing. These donations were made by people who understand how my horrible disease has turned our lives upside down. The donors are caring, kind, loving, and generous people. I deeply appreciate the donations.
Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines kindness as the quality or state of being kind. Kind is defined as being of a sympathetic or helpful nature. The definition of gratitude is the state of being grateful. Finally, the dictionary defines grateful as appreciative of benefits received: feeling or showing thanks.
I believe kindness and gratefulness go together perfectly. It generally takes an act of kindness for someone to be grateful.
In an interview during her How I Met Your Mother era, Cobie Smulders observed..."Kindness is something that I feel is leaving us a little bit – people are getting more self-involved.” Before I stopped driving, I often felt the same way. Acts of kindness while driving are rare.
Actually, acts of kindness are on the rise according to several recent studies. There is an awareness problem, though. Kindness seems to get overwhelmed by divisiveness on social media and the news. Sadly, I don’t believe the divisive rhetoric is going to stop anytime soon. What we can do is to talk about kindness and gratitude more often. Drown out the negativity with positivity.
Will you join me in this mission?
Post on social media the small acts of kindness you experience. It could be as simple as, “I am grateful for the kind man who held the door open at the cafe today.” If enough of us talk about kindness, it may block some of the negative and divisive rhetoric.
In closing, my Alzheimer’s disease is progressing. I notice it mostly in my memory and my ability to gather my thoughts. The good news is that I can overcome these inadequacies with patience. As I mentioned above, my hand trembling has worsened. It is odd that some days the trembling is barely noticeable and other days I can’t write or hold my coffee mug with one hand.
Thank you for your commitment to my blog, your support, and your kindness. Linda and I are extremely grateful to have you on this dreadful journey.
That was nicely written, and a pleasant read on a busy day helping take care of folks here. Thank You.