Turning Out Nice -21

Morning Friend,

I don't consider it display of braggadocio when I say I'm a "nice" person.

In the first place, a "nice" person wouldn't be bragging about it now would they?

Not that "boastful" people aren't "nice", they're just folks whose insecurities require a little supplemental self-promotion.

One should be slightly wary of those whose ONLY attribute is their "niceness"?

For example, "Well, I'm a drunk a cheat a liar and I beat up my wife, but DEEP DOWN....I'm a pretty nice guy!".

Moreover, one cannot automatically assume that a person who is "diligent, honest and temperate" is also, a "nice" person.

A well developed sense of propriety and social responsibility is a "nicety" shared by nice people and "Jerks" alike.

It's far easier to APPEAR to be nice, than to DO nice things for people.

TRULY nice people don't advertise it; either as a supplement to their achievements, or the "saving grace" of an otherwise misspent life.

NICENESS, I would venture to say, can be easily measured by what a person does WHEN NO ONE IS AROUND to see them.

Like a tree falling in a forest beyond the range of human hearing, the sound of niceness is like an atomic blast; the atoms converging in the caring soul, splitting in the humble heart and deafeningly rising to the heavens in a clamoring mushroom cloud of selfless compassion and God-given love.

Now this is one instance where I'm not going to apologize for going a little "adjectivally overboard" because there is a palpable, physiological, psychological and spiritual "RUSH" that accompanies simple acts of human kindness that you CANNOT find anywhere else on this earth. ( nor can you replicate it with drugs or purchase it online).

For me, it's all about a clear and healthy conscience and a strong relationship with God, but even if religion is not your "thing", you MUST have felt the glow after doing - what is not always the "easiest"- but what you know is the RIGHT thing....something "nice".

One of the benefits of religion being my "thing", is knowing that the trees falling in the forest of my life are making a heavenly "racket".

One needn't wonder about what I do when I'm "alone" because I never am.

But regardless of your religious persuasion my friend, unless you're a sociopath, I daresay the conscience of a "nice" person doesn't take days off, (which is why the note left on the window of your "just dinged" car in the parking lot could just as easily have been left by an Atheist as a Baptist ).

If the note says, "I'm writing this because someone is watching me. Have a nice day. HA HA! ", then you know you've been dinged by the aforementioned "jerk", who is probably DEEP DOWN "nice", but doesn't have insurance.

At any rate, I've surely not covered any profound territory today and while it's nice to be "nice", it's also important to recognize that I AM flawed as we all are and therefore not ALWAYS so.

Recognizing that, and the fact that the RIGHT choices are often the most difficult, makes life a daily and often fulfilling CHALLENGE.

I was blessed however, in my childhood to learn first-hand about REAL "challenges" and those lessons guide and inspire me to this day.

As part of her Nurses' Training, my Mother did a "rotation" at St. Amant Centre. ( a Hospital for handicapped and mentally retarded children)

I remember vividly the "aura" of the place when on occasion we visited her there and she took my brother and I on a "tour".

We played with a boy about the same age as us, the shared laughter and innocent joy of children belied by our diverse destinies and poignantly distinct challenges.

In a small, dimly lit and alien-smelling room I peered through the bars of a large "crib" where a baby with severe hydrocephalus ( his head larger than his body), lay sleeping and I was stricken with just about every emotion and contemplative thought a young boy can comprehend in a few brief moments.

How did this happen? ....What was he experiencing? ... Will he "get better"?...Does his family come to "visit"?...Is he in pain?....Does he "sense" I am here?

I dreamt of that dim room and the silent bonding between me and that "challenged" child for many months.

The enormity of the experience conveyed invaluable lessons in humility, humanity, mercy, compassion and love I will never forget: to realize how incredibly fortunate I am and to SHARE that fortune with others whether they even REALISE it or not.

I'm fairly certain I'm a "nicer" person for it. ( Thank You Mother! )

love tImMy :/

“Laugh as much as you breathe
and love as long as you live." ( unto the least of my brothers)