The Kindness of Strangers

Coincidence, Karma, Fate, Pre-determinism....

All thoughts that swirl through my coffee-fueled mind...

I believe that we have a destiny that has already been carved and within that destiny we have the ability to use free will/ choice to close our ears and eyes to the signs that are around us or to embrace them. It takes awareness and a conscious decision to slow down our lives to be aware of what is around us.

This point hit home for me with a video that was making the rounds on Facebook and has probably hit the numbers needed to brand it viral by now. Would love to share it with you, but it's not a YouTube embed, so I can't get a URL. Best I can do is give you a link to my C3 Facebook Page and have you view it there. The premise is that we tend to take people at face value without looking for the back story. Imagine what the world would be like if we extended more kindness and compassion and didn't react immediately to our first impression.

The second part of this observation is the idea that when we do extend kindness, no matter how small, no matter how random, we have the ability for that to build. People are struck by the generosity and compassion of others and the warmth that emanates inside them finds its way in some type of expression of gratitude that affects yet another person, and so on. Remember the Pay It Forward movement from several years ago? That's what I'm getting at.

I experienced several acts of kindness today, to the point where I began to wonder if there was a sign on my back that said "Show her a little love!". Weird how that happens. Here are my little miracles for the day:

1. During a surgery consult at Children's Hospital, the nurse was able to squeeze us in over the Christmas holidays so that no school would be missed for the operation

2. Stopped at a shoe repair shop to inquire whether my favorite Borns were fixable. The owner stopped what he was doing and repaired them that minute and threw in a polish and shine.

3. Popped into a local bakery to grab a muffin to eat while I waited for the shoes. Wanted to remove any traces of hospital germs off my hands, but the bakery did not have a public restroom. The clerk invited me to come behind the counter to use the bakery sink.

None of these things will change the world, but you know what. They changed my day. They made me smile.... Perhaps you will too!




Copyright Michelle Beckham-Corbin 2010

The Sweet Spot: Where Passion & Career Collide

Imagine the infinite possibilities that await you when you follow your passion.....




Full text of the post referred to in the video can be found here.

Want to join the conversation? Need help in navigating your passion? Contact me here and let's talk!

Also:

I am looking to establish a mentor/mentee program for women. If you have any interest on either side of the equation, please send me your name & contact information. You can reach me: Michelle@CreatingConnectionsConsulting.com

Copyright Michelle Beckham-Corbin 2010

The Bell Tolls

Circle of Life

Light of Hope

Belief in tomorrow

That you will be there

In your place as always

Yet

Life throws us curve balls

The path twists

And we dodge the arrow

Or unknowingly get caught in the cross hairs

Of our destiny

The pain of losing an ancient one

Is a million times milder than losing a child

Both sad, but the elder has led a long life

Affected change through many seasons

A child is just beginning to make a mark on the world

The possibilities are endlessly open

The pain cuts like a knife for those who were not there

They did not get the chance to say good-bye………

Copyright Michelle Beckham-Corbin 2010

Vashkrieg: Journey to the Epicenter

"You and I were friends from outer space

Afraid to let go, the only two who understood this place

And as far as we know, we were way before our time….."

~This Ain't Goodbye by Train

You will forever be a piece of me

A sliver of warmth wedged deeply into my heart and my psyche

You taught me to love deeply and risk greatly

Believing in the truth and not the norm

Allowing me to be the ‘me’ that was hidden away

Unpeeling the layers like the leaves of the artichoke

Until my essence was exposed

So glad that we have reached that pinnacle

That defines success for each of us today

Music and literature will forever tie the pages

Of our lives together

So glad that you won’t be traveling that road alone

So raise a glass to “the only two who understood this place”

I'll see you on the other side.

Copyright Michelle Beckham-Corbin 2010

Rocking My World

One day you will stumble upon this page

And you will be carried back in time

Slowly you will breathe in my words

And one by one, the cylinders of your brain will kick in

As the memories fire up the engine of yesterday

Once upon a time and long, long ago

You touched my life

You changed me in a metamorphic way

Your presence challenged me to change my view on the world

As you turned my universe upside down

We knew each other as much as any two humans can deeply decipher

Yet, a key element was missing that made our attachment

All the more remarkable

Years went by and memories faded to the dark recesses of our minds

But the words remained

Along with the power to tell the story from long ago

So take your time and choose carefully

Most of what you will find is about your life and our time together

The rest is left unwritten……

Copyright Michelle Beckham-Corbin 2010

Be My Winding Wheel

You never cease to amaze me with your dichotomous ability

To wax and wane in my life

One moment you are anger and fury pointing a crooked

Finger at the past

Months of eerie silence follows

As I wonder if you are destroying the life

I worked so hard to save

Then out of the blue you emerge and ask me:

“Do you recall ‘Be My Winding Wheel’ by Ryan Adams?”

Good Lord, of course I do

How could I forget……

There is an enormous history between the three of us

Sharing his music, discussing his lyrics, reading aloud to each other

From Ryan’s book of poetry, “Infinity Blues”

And then the magic occurs as you pull out your acoustic guitar

And play the song while soulfully singing out the lyrics

I haven’t heard you sing for me in years, yet it felt like yesterday

But different

Your life is set to the path I helped charter

And it is so very cool that we still debate and philosophize about

Great literary works and gut-touching music

I know your idiosyncrasies and you know my vanity

We share history that has shaped who we are today

And for some crazy reason that tenuous web remains unbroken…

Copyright Michelle Beckham-Corbin 2010 All rights Reserved

Mother/Daughter Time

Mackenzie & I fell asleep as I was reading the short story, Everyday Use, by Alice Walker to her. I'm sure the narrative will reappear in my dreams tonight. The plan was for us to discuss this particular piece of literary genre as she has a test on it tomorrow. Hopefully one can truly learn through sleep osmosis.

I have loved Alice Walker's work from the time before The Color Purple made such a big splash on the world. Reading about characters whose lives I can not even begin to comprehend has been incredibly enlightening.




Copyright Michelle Beckham-Corbin 2010

It's the End of the Summer!

This was a very relaxing summer season for me as I didn't cram 10 lifetimes into 3 months. Balance was the word and it was heard throughout my household. In honor of the official arrival of Fall, I am sharing this music video "End of Summer" by Theory of a Dead Man (there's gotta be a story behind that band name!).



Unfortunately, all of the yards in Cincinnati are showing signs of intense heat stress and the actual calendar date is doing nothing to dispel the warm weather. It's 93 degrees here and I'm going to grab my popsicle and do some pumpkin placements as the sweat slowly drips down my back....

Welcome Fall!!


Copyright Michelle Beckham-Corbin 201

C3:Creating Connections Consulting

Here's a look a the other side of my life. Welcome to C3: Creating Connections Consulting, LLC




You can contact us at: info@creatingconnectionsconsulting.com




C3:Creating Connections Consult

Copyright Michelle Beckham-Corbin 2010