Grateful Sunday

We talk a lot about reading on our CCA blog and one reason reading is so important is because when you're born "different" you inherit a different perspective on life, whether it's spending weeks of your childhood in a hospital or seeing how other kids, who are perhaps less outspoken, get treated in Special Ed classes. If you're like me, growing up, I often had time alone to simply observe. Sometimes those observations are horrifying, but many times they're truly heartwarming.

I believe writers are society's observers and they also see the world from a "different" perspective. I'm so grateful for people who have the courage to write down their thoughts and share their experiences, so others may find knowledge, encouragement, or just enough strength to say, "Wow, humans have been struggling with these feelings for eons. I don't feel so alone all of the sudden."

One of my favorite writers is Kurt Vonnegut. Vonnegut was modern and witty, pained but yet positive. He wrote about war and science fiction, politics and fantasy. I love a great many of his quotations and works, but this one recently struck a chord. You could say it's another (maybe slightly more emphatic) version of "Choose Kind." In his own words, Vonnegut wrote,

Hello babies. Welcome to Earth. It's hot in the summer and cold in the winter.
It's round and wet and crowded. On the outside, babies, you've got a hundred years here. There's only one rule that I know of, babies-"Dang* it, you've got to be kind.”

In my words? Life is long and hot and itchy. Kindness is a cool, refreshing salve. Lather it on before you go out into the world.

Rest easy today, friends, and practice kindness.

--Erica

*only slightly edited