On the topic of silly minds,.I just watched the delightful Zac Alsop clip you included in this post. When he was leading the sheep out of the hotel and said "Come on you", my brain automatically thought "They missed the chance to have the subtitle say ""Come on ewe""
Stay silly, stay kind. And please, please share more of these random YouTube finds!
Yesterday I took a bag full of change that’s been residing in my junk drawer to a supermarket that has one of those coin machines. Sitting outside was a girl with a table and sign that said she was raising money for People Who Care. After entering the supermarket, I paused, reversed course and went back outside. She was praying with her eyes closed. I quietly left the bag of coins on her table and left. She didn’t realize until I was pulling away in my car, and proceeded to give me the biggest smile and wave. Random acts of kindness don’t have to be random and typically the result is that both people feel better after these types of interactions. Based on what I’ve read here, my guess is that many of the people in this community that you’ve built are doing such things on a regular basis. Now I have to do a bit of an uncomfortable yoga stretch in my mind and wear something loud…
When I read the title “Be weird, be open, be kind”, I was expecting something else than what I read. But it still works for me… because you wrap ‘behavior’ within the cover of “embrace something completely out of the ordinary”. I agree that “something magical happens” after that. I have done each of those actions you listed, and more… yet please permit me to suggest that most people still think of be as “different, but not weird”.
So that brings me to the less contrarian and more complementary part of my thoughts on your essay today. I ask the question: How does acting differently benefit the world around us? Of course, the easiest answer to that is to consider what art and artists bring to our world. There is so much value and appreciation there.
For the rest of us, who don’t step outside our own persona in public, what is the payoff for being different?
Most of us do tend to live our lives “trying to just blend into the background fabric of life”. Yet, we instinctively know the difference between right and wrong. Being “different” is not an act of disrespect or lacking maturity, it is a demonstration of selflessness , a recognition that following others is not always the best thing to do. That standing up for what is right is better than going along with the crowd.
In doing so, to a greater or lesser degree, you would be joining some pretty awesome company, such as those who signed the Declaration of Independence; those abolitionists who housed runaway slaves in the Underground Railroad during the civil war; volunteers who have assisted during natural disasters (so many choices here from Red Cross, Salvation Army, and many many others); and first responders during Covid epidemic who gave more than their time caring for others. I’m not suggesting dramatic or extreme behavior here, although most of us who went to protest last weekend joined the company of Jesus himself, who engaged in civil protest, despite falsely accused of being a “domestic terrorist”. Just think of the 3 million who chose to cancel their Disney streaming service after Jimmy Kimmel was pulled off the air. One subtle act done by millions that shook the foundations of corporate America and Washington. Sometimes it doesn’t take a lot of effort to make things better.
My premise here is that “being and acting different” does not require one to intentionally attract attention (although that could be the result). It doesn’t have to include being disruptive, wearing a costume, or even being seen. Think of all the great and positive impacts from simply doing anonymous random acts of kindness everyday. But it is the action done consciously, consistently, or randomly with sincerity and kindness where the ‘magic happens’. Good karma. Mutual benefits. Acts that motivate others to do the own “paying forward” or “returning the favor”. “Magic happens, for them, for the people they meet, and it works for all of us”, although sometimes wearing a clown nose in the store just makes everyone forget about their worries for a moment.
My friend, I totally agree about not necessarily needing to attract attention, and I completely see where you are with this. I think the entire idea of allowing yourself TO open to the world, without the need for costume, for disruption, anything like that, is the point. You hit the nail on the head, once again, with the location of the "magic" that hides. It's in the intention, it's in the good we pay out. Whether or not we've got that clown nose on ;) You're amazing.
I love you. Thank you for being my agent of chaos and kindness, you have opened up my entire world and do so a little more every day with your wonderful weirdness. :)
I love this! Hurray for more silliness and vulnerability to create joy and connection.
The bit about the artist asking to paint walls -- that is so cool!!
I invite you to check out @greg_goya on instagram. His art is so wonderful; he is always doing fun installations to remind us of love and joy, and to encourage people to be vulnerable like this and connect in public, either with strangers or loved ones. All the videos are so heartwarming.
Ty and I also love to wave and say hello to people we walk past; it's how we were raised, and it's how we're raising our kiddos as well. It's free and easy to greet a neighbour (or stranger) and can have a huge impact!
I do a lot of the list on a daily basis working in retail, and especially when I work in the fitting room. Everyone is greeted as a friend. It's part of our motto [maybe not in those words] of the store. It took me some time to be spontaneously friendly, but now that I am, it's hard to stop. I ask just about everyone how they are today. I mean, how are YOU today? Seriously. You. Reading. Tell me <3
You are so right! Magic does happen when you do this! I love being weird and open for this very reason. It makes me feel good to laugh and get people to dance to whatever music is playing. Most recently, I went to a family-style wine dinner at Carrabba's and asked to sit at a table with an empty seat and three other strangers. By the end of the dinner, we were all great friends on a group call while driving home because we weren't finished laughing and talking yet. Not long ago, I met a podcaster and agreed to be on his podcast featuring local people with stories to tell. It was totally random and not something I'd ever done before, but it was so much fun, and now I'll be going back to film a follow-up episode. Life is just more fun when you are kind and open to talking to people.
On the topic of silly minds,.I just watched the delightful Zac Alsop clip you included in this post. When he was leading the sheep out of the hotel and said "Come on you", my brain automatically thought "They missed the chance to have the subtitle say ""Come on ewe""
Stay silly, stay kind. And please, please share more of these random YouTube finds!
Hahaha, I Love this. Stay silly, stay kind, and I absolutely will share more random finds! :) Trust me, there are MANY.
Yesterday I took a bag full of change that’s been residing in my junk drawer to a supermarket that has one of those coin machines. Sitting outside was a girl with a table and sign that said she was raising money for People Who Care. After entering the supermarket, I paused, reversed course and went back outside. She was praying with her eyes closed. I quietly left the bag of coins on her table and left. She didn’t realize until I was pulling away in my car, and proceeded to give me the biggest smile and wave. Random acts of kindness don’t have to be random and typically the result is that both people feel better after these types of interactions. Based on what I’ve read here, my guess is that many of the people in this community that you’ve built are doing such things on a regular basis. Now I have to do a bit of an uncomfortable yoga stretch in my mind and wear something loud…
CHris this is FANTASTIC! I Love this so much, and I completely agree: This community is FULL of outliers that do such good. I Love it here.
When I read the title “Be weird, be open, be kind”, I was expecting something else than what I read. But it still works for me… because you wrap ‘behavior’ within the cover of “embrace something completely out of the ordinary”. I agree that “something magical happens” after that. I have done each of those actions you listed, and more… yet please permit me to suggest that most people still think of be as “different, but not weird”.
So that brings me to the less contrarian and more complementary part of my thoughts on your essay today. I ask the question: How does acting differently benefit the world around us? Of course, the easiest answer to that is to consider what art and artists bring to our world. There is so much value and appreciation there.
For the rest of us, who don’t step outside our own persona in public, what is the payoff for being different?
Most of us do tend to live our lives “trying to just blend into the background fabric of life”. Yet, we instinctively know the difference between right and wrong. Being “different” is not an act of disrespect or lacking maturity, it is a demonstration of selflessness , a recognition that following others is not always the best thing to do. That standing up for what is right is better than going along with the crowd.
In doing so, to a greater or lesser degree, you would be joining some pretty awesome company, such as those who signed the Declaration of Independence; those abolitionists who housed runaway slaves in the Underground Railroad during the civil war; volunteers who have assisted during natural disasters (so many choices here from Red Cross, Salvation Army, and many many others); and first responders during Covid epidemic who gave more than their time caring for others. I’m not suggesting dramatic or extreme behavior here, although most of us who went to protest last weekend joined the company of Jesus himself, who engaged in civil protest, despite falsely accused of being a “domestic terrorist”. Just think of the 3 million who chose to cancel their Disney streaming service after Jimmy Kimmel was pulled off the air. One subtle act done by millions that shook the foundations of corporate America and Washington. Sometimes it doesn’t take a lot of effort to make things better.
My premise here is that “being and acting different” does not require one to intentionally attract attention (although that could be the result). It doesn’t have to include being disruptive, wearing a costume, or even being seen. Think of all the great and positive impacts from simply doing anonymous random acts of kindness everyday. But it is the action done consciously, consistently, or randomly with sincerity and kindness where the ‘magic happens’. Good karma. Mutual benefits. Acts that motivate others to do the own “paying forward” or “returning the favor”. “Magic happens, for them, for the people they meet, and it works for all of us”, although sometimes wearing a clown nose in the store just makes everyone forget about their worries for a moment.
It’s being human
Doing what could / should be done
Random acts of love
Yes, I can dress up!
I can ride naked on bikes!
Or just say “no more”.
Hiding in real sight
I’m not who I seem to be
Actions speak louder.
My friend, I totally agree about not necessarily needing to attract attention, and I completely see where you are with this. I think the entire idea of allowing yourself TO open to the world, without the need for costume, for disruption, anything like that, is the point. You hit the nail on the head, once again, with the location of the "magic" that hides. It's in the intention, it's in the good we pay out. Whether or not we've got that clown nose on ;) You're amazing.
I love you. Thank you for being my agent of chaos and kindness, you have opened up my entire world and do so a little more every day with your wonderful weirdness. :)
I love YOU. Thank you for giving me the space to be exactly the way I am.
I love this! Hurray for more silliness and vulnerability to create joy and connection.
The bit about the artist asking to paint walls -- that is so cool!!
I invite you to check out @greg_goya on instagram. His art is so wonderful; he is always doing fun installations to remind us of love and joy, and to encourage people to be vulnerable like this and connect in public, either with strangers or loved ones. All the videos are so heartwarming.
Ty and I also love to wave and say hello to people we walk past; it's how we were raised, and it's how we're raising our kiddos as well. It's free and easy to greet a neighbour (or stranger) and can have a huge impact!
This is so magic, and I agree, always the hello, always the greeting. Life's too short.
I love this idea -- spread the kindness. Make someone's day a little bit brighter!
Be "...that which shines light into a dark corner". Saicho
Absolutely this, absolutely always.
I choose colour. Black is a colour. LOL.
I do a lot of the list on a daily basis working in retail, and especially when I work in the fitting room. Everyone is greeted as a friend. It's part of our motto [maybe not in those words] of the store. It took me some time to be spontaneously friendly, but now that I am, it's hard to stop. I ask just about everyone how they are today. I mean, how are YOU today? Seriously. You. Reading. Tell me <3
Black is absolutely a color. One of my most favorites! ALong with hot pink and charcoal grey. :)
You are so right! Magic does happen when you do this! I love being weird and open for this very reason. It makes me feel good to laugh and get people to dance to whatever music is playing. Most recently, I went to a family-style wine dinner at Carrabba's and asked to sit at a table with an empty seat and three other strangers. By the end of the dinner, we were all great friends on a group call while driving home because we weren't finished laughing and talking yet. Not long ago, I met a podcaster and agreed to be on his podcast featuring local people with stories to tell. It was totally random and not something I'd ever done before, but it was so much fun, and now I'll be going back to film a follow-up episode. Life is just more fun when you are kind and open to talking to people.
Maureen this is amazing and I LOVE that you did that! What a beautiful thing. Here's to living life wide open.
It’s how we met you and Sarah! ❤️