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Fie On Goodness
By:
Laurel Ross
I
have been spending more of my time working with
a local charity. It’s a cause that I deeply
believe in. The people who work with this organization
are an amazing bunch. Each one is a true believer,
and has somehow managed to survive into middle age
with a purity I have not seen elsewhere.
For
a cynic like me, this has been hard to accept. After
spending a decade working in the political arena,
I learned to question people’s motives and
to evaluate every word and action, looking for the
true meaning and intent. I became used to looking
at life with a wary glance, wondering when the shoe
will drop. In politics, there was always an underlying
motive and a dropping shoe.
So
here I am, two and a half years after getting out
of politics and into the charity biz, surrounded
by goodness. And it’s scary. The people I
work with on legal issues, fundraising, and other
matters are truly good. Unscathed by irony, cynicism,
and jaded attitudes. I’ve gotten to know about
a dozen staff members reasonably well, and each
is blessed with deep seated goodness.
It
took me a long time to get used to this. In the
beginning, I thought that their effusive thanks
and kind words were tinged with mockery, because
that’s what I had learned to expect. I soon
learned that they were truly sincere in their words,
and that the thanks were for real. In some respects,
that sincerity helped me to heal from the battles
I had endured in politics.
Even
when the faithful do things that upset me, I can’t
stay angry. I was very upset over a perceived slight
at a recent event. Afterwards, I advised the two
people involved of my hurt. Both apologized profusely,
and made it clear that the slight was an oversight,
not intentional. They asked for my forgiveness,
leaving me to realize it was actually my own pride
and ego that had caused the pain. Their natural
goodness forced me to realize my own shortcomings,
and to work on moving forward in this life.
I
still have that cynicism, I just use it less. I
am learning to pass along the kindness and appreciation
to those who cross my path. It is still difficult
and sometimes seems very unrealistic to me, because
my occupation and life choices have brought me into
contact with many less positive forces in this world.
But I’m learning.
I
recently had lunch with three of the faithful, and
returned to my office begging for someone to make
a snide comment. It takes a lot of energy to be
nice. And yet, everything this charity touches is
graced by it, myself included.
Editors
Note: Fie On Goodness is a song from Camelot about
being surrounded by goodness. Please send your email
comments to Laurel Ross at LaurelRoss39@aol.com
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