November 5-6: It Isn't Easy, a Little Cranky, Kindness Begets

After a moment a voice replied, "It isn't easy being a cop!"

Arthur and the rest of the Heart of Gold crew are dealing with cops who are having cranky days, because they're cops and frustrated novelists with unhappy home lives.

I am a little cranky tonight.  Haven't been getting a whole lot of sleep recently, and Wednesday is my long day.  I leave home at 5:30 a.m., and I don't generally get back home until around 10 p.m., just in time for American Horror Story.  In between, I'm working and teaching, with an hour-long break for dinner. 

So, let me say it again:  I am a little cranky tonight.

Generally, I try not to let my personal life interfere with my professional responsibilities.  I'm good at compartmentalizing.  Wearing as many hats as I do during the week, this ability is kinda necessary.  However, I not always successful at separating home from work from school.  Sometimes, they end up spilling into each other.

This reality of my life has taught me a valuable lesson.  When I get berated by a patient in the medical office, or dissed on a final evaluation by an anonymous student, I don't get angry or take it personally.  You see, I've come to realize that most of the time, when a person behaves badly, it has nothing to do with me.  Usually, it's personal, based on some fear/trauma going on at home.  If I get upset, start arguing back, pointing fingers, I won't help that person feel any better, and I'll probably end up feeling awful to boot.

Of course, that doesn't excuse bad behavior.  Everyone deserves to be treated with kindness and compassion (except Donald Trump).  But, when I remind myself that the reason Mrs. Smith is yelling at me on the phone is because Mr. Smith is dying of congestive heart failure, I tend to be a little more understanding.  A little more patient.

So, if you run into me tonight and I'm a little terse with you, please forgive me.  I'm dealing with a lot of shit at the moment.  And if I see you and you don't return my smile or wave, I'll understand.  I'll say a prayer for you, ask God to send some healing angels your way.  Because that's the right thing to do.  Kindness begets kindness.

I'm not perfect.  I still get upset.  Honk my horn when somebody does something stupid on the road.  Criticize bad poems or bad writing.  Question acts that seem senseless or stupid.  We all do this.  A lot.

Tonight, however, because he is tired and busy and at the end of his proverbial rope, Saint Marty is embracing kindness, for himself and everyone else.  He's sending it out into the world.  Trying to make the universe a brighter place.

Except for Donald Trump.