the kindness of it all

there are monsters in this world. they are in back alleyways at midnight, and in corporate conference rooms at noon. they are sons. daughters. mamas. robert and i have recently taken to watching 48 hours and dateline. and it's awful, the things people are capable of.

but for the life of me, i just can't shake the realization that as a whole, people are kind. they are sweet and generous and when they're not, there's a reason, and it typically has nothing to do with the situation at hand. or with you.

i wrote about this idea once. after a christmas shopping trip. intoxicated by the carols and the sweet hot cider. just as everyone looks beautiful in candlelight, everyone looks sweet under tinsel.

but i had the same thought this past week--on a random friday in the middle of the afternoon. sitting at my desk with sunlight streaming in through the cracked blinds.

there's a non-profit organization a few cities over. one meeting with one sweet woman last monday and it was settled. they are paying for my speech easy device. every single penny of it. an accumulation of heartache, prayer and wishful thinking, all coming to a head as the week came to an end.

i spent the weekend in awe of it all. sending whispered prayers of thanks up to heaven, swinging on the front porch swing letting autumn wrap its cool, wispy arms around me.

i've seen a lot of this world. i've been mocked and laughed at. i've felt like toe scum after being walked upon. people have hurt me to the core and left me forever changed.

but for all their faults, people can also be extraordinarily kind-hearted. and i declare, they are good.