Warm and Wonderful

By Lise Alschuler, ND, FABNO
AANP Past-President (2008-2009)

Photo by ZakVTA via Flickr, used
under the Creative Commons License.

This week has been unseasonably warm in New England. Enjoying sunny days with temperatures in the 70’s and 80’s when we would normally be in the 50’s has been a treat – it has also been amazing to see how much happier and more agreeable people have been lately. This early taste of spring infuses just about everyone with a touch of optimism, a little more forgiveness and a warm spot of joy. With this goodwill, it is no wonder that people engage in kinder and gentler interactions.  And, really, this way of being with each other is exactly as it should be – always.

I don’t know if it is because I am getting older, or because I have experienced serious illness, or because of the losses that I have endured, but I am finding myself increasingly drawn towards kindness.  In the presence of kindness, I find myself being fully present. I want to be in this moment, engaged and interactive. In kindness, I draw from my own inner well of goodness and share mylove back. These are just genuine and tender moments and that is what life is best about – a string of one loving moment attached to the next. 

By the same token, in the face of arrogance or insincerity, I find myself increasingly intolerant. Not intolerant of the person, but of the emotion, motivation and interaction. I am less and less able to remain present when these attributes are at play. I just don’t want to be a part of these exchanges. I drift away, or I issue compassion, or if I get hooked, I breathe and smile and disentangle myself. Fortunately, with this unexpectedly magnificent, feel-good weather that we have been experiencing lately, my days are gloriously anointed with moment after moment of kind generosity.