Every time I find myself, hopping on one foot, trying to yank off the other shoe, while taking off my belt, scarf and jacket—calculating the number of little gray tubs needed for handbag, computer, shoes, and accessories—all, while moving along , so I won’t be the bottle-neck, holding up the rest of the frantic-to-catch-a-flight-passengers—–I have the same two thoughts. 

“Look at the massive impact, virtually a hand-full of  intensely commited people, are having on the rest of us, as we wiggle  and wrangle our way through security, right this moment.  Every single day, millions of peeople are living, working, and moving through the world differently, because of a radically misguided, few.”    It just blows me away.  

My follow-up thought is always this:  “What would be possible if WE would apply the same intention, commitment and action—-in a powerfully positive direction?”   

LET”S DO SOME DREAMING……

What if WE were just as intensely FOR something?   Is it too corny or schmaltzy or even ‘Polyanna” to believe in the best in people?  How does GOODNESS become a permanent place in the news?   I am up to here with the stories of fractured people, fracturing others.  I hate feeling helpless to do anything about so much of what I hear and see. 

I know, I know, I can turn off the TV.  I can use the newspaper just to line the birdcage or pack that lamp to send back.  But, just as much as I chafe at the vitriolic barrage, I don’t like playing ostrich, either.  Surely, at the saturation point we find ourselves, something magnificent and positive can drip out.

What would it be like to know you could turn on and tune in, to something renewing us, making us feel assured, something giving us hope that “REALITY” actually means ”GOOD” instead of whacked and off-kilter?

Rather than a hand-full, how do we become a land-full—of people intent on the idea of propelling the actions of kindness, love and faith into the forefront?  I am not talking about a bunch of woo-woo, sit-on-your-blanket-and-play-a-flute-all-day, stuff.  I am talking about creating something where the collective acts of human caring get the top spot on the billboard.  Got any ideas?

LET’S DO SOME DOING………

While we percolate on the big picture, we can take action for goodness in our own lives today. Now.  Here’s an idea.

What if you made it a point to email, call or text someone to thank them for being in your life?  Thank them for something specific they said or did.  Give them a touchstone.

Put their names on your calendar or into your blackberry.  For starters, you would be “carrying” this person, who is a source of positive  feelings, tangibly, into your life, just by inserting their name into your calendar and your mind’s eye.   If you did this just before going to bed—do you think it might have a beneficial affect on the quality of your sleep? 

How simple is that?

This unexpected gift of goodness and gratitude from you, to them, will make a mutual connection, sending a surge of “You’ve Just Made My Day” through the two of you, at the very least.  Now, think of the network of others, you two, will touch during the next twenty-four hours.  What do you think the chances of more positive interactions with/for everyone concerned, will be? 

What if the two of you, turned into twenty-two, then two thousand, then twenty-two million?   How hard would that be?  Intention. Commitment. Action.

As things stand now, we will still have to almost undress to get through the airport (although, I have fantasized about showing up in my jammies and fluffy scuffies,  sailing through security and pulling a “Clark Kent “in the bathroom— only needing to dress, once ,per trip)……..but, if we began to apply this idea…..who knows, we just might find ourselves seated next to someone who has just been touched by one of  those simple acknowledgments—-of their own goodness.  Flying higher. Feeling Faith.  Both of you will be in for a great ride.