A Few Good Things

I love that when we laugh in someone's presence, we look around us to see that others are laughing, too. A funny movie is on, or your waiter farts, or the kid next door that you can't stand falls off his skateboard. Whether we're in the room with one other person or 50, we need to acknowledge a mutual interpretation of humor and goodwill in order to really feel it completely. And when someone you care about is sharing in something that you think is funny, there's a brief, miraculous charge of energy that rushes through your veins. There's something beautiful and calming about simultaneous joy.

(Funny how I had never thought about this until this week....or maybe I've thought of it often, I just didn't remember thinking it. No; I really don't think I thought it....)


Sometimes things suck. The world around us gets stressful and confrontational and hard to navigate. What you thought was a smooth edge gets roughened by your shortcomings and inperfections and it presses into your stomach every time you turn. But then you stop twisting long enough to make eye contact with someone who knows you. And you feel known. And knowing that you can be known like that, and that someone with all that knowledge still wants to look you in the eyes......THAT makes everything else seem manageable.


There is someone out there who cares that you've had a migrane all day and that you might need to vomit at any moment. There is someone who will give you a manicure just because...even when you've referred to him as an explictative to his face. There is someone who recognizes how hard you work; and they respect you for it. There is someone who reminds you of all the dirty places you've been...and that you've come out clean every time. There is someone who knows where you're coming from when nobody else does. There is someone who doesn't scoff at your fondness for your kitty. There is someone who keeps trying when you don't return his calls right away. There is someone who calls you long distance for advice during hair tragedies...because she remembers when you cried over your accidental black hair that made you look "like a hispanic". There is someone who assures you that you deserve great things.

And it feels GOOD, doesn't it?