human being: noun. a man, woman, or child of the species Homo sapien, distinguished from other animals by superior mental development, power of articulate speech, and upright stance.
Dear dictionary,
I know my mental development is NOT superior, I am not in the least bit articulate, and I have horrible posture. But I am very much human.
This morning was not my morning. It was the blotchy face, teary eyes, "what's wrong Miss Stutz?," kind of morning. Trying to hide exhaustion and disappointment from six-year-olds is harder than you'd think.
I probably vented on six different people. Some close friends, others just acquaintances. And I am sorry to those six people. But can I tell you something? Everyone who noticed, everyone who took the time of their day to see that my eyes were full of overwhelmed, emotional ridiculousness, had something encouraging to say. It was far more than just those six blessed souls. Concerned, caring human beings that owed NOTHING to me, reminded me to smile, gave me hugs, and promised that things would get better soon enough. They asked if they could pray for me, offered me a cooked meal, and even wanted to do my grocery shopping so I could take a nap.
Nothing huge happened to me. It was just one of those days. But my overwhelming ridiculousness turned into overwhelming gratitude for the human being.
There are scary things happening in our world, but mankind is still compassionate. I don't care who you are, what you look like, how much you own, or what you believe in. Every soul has light and love. Of course they do. They are literal children of a Heavenly Father who is the sole Creator of light and love. That should be the definition of human being.
My heart was warmed and my spirit was comforted by the hug from the loud-laughing girl in my math class, by the reminder from the plaid-shirt-boy who is always in the tech lab at the same time as me, by the encouraging email from my liaison, and by the random high-five from that total stranger as I walked down the hill to my humble abode. I realize that was a run-on sentence. It is expressive of my run-on appreciation.
In fact, this whole post is a run-on. Hey, I warned you about my poor articulation, did I not? I'm going to go develop my mind and work on my posture now.
Love Flows,
B.
3 comments:
I don't think a lot of people realize how much the small gestures mean to other people, like the random dude high fiveing people as he walked up the ramp. It's things like that that stick out in our minds and make us smile at odd times when everything else seems to collapse around us.
I need to bookmark a General Conference talk from a few years ago because it speaks to me at so many varied times. Whether I'm in the depths of sorrow or just exhausted from a long day, every once in a while Joseph B. Wirthlin's voice pops into my head.
Sunday will come.
Things will destress, but in the meantime, don't hesitate to lean on your friends. I've made the mistake of being the lonely rock for myself way too many times.
Love love love. Let me know when you need a random drive through the canyons. I'm always up for that.
I'm crying right now. Seriously.
Even more so because you signed it "love flows" and posted a pic of Ellen!
You can always vent on me! You don't EVER have to be sorry.
kenj
yessssss! i love when we get to talk about how being human connects every single one of us on this planet.
and i want to be vented on. or to. or with. whatever preposition is required there.
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