I feel her with me –
whenever I think of her,
she’s here. I feel her
when I’m kind and doing
something nice
for someone else.
I don’t feel her as eyes
watching me. Or as a ghost.
I don’t feel her as a physical
being at all. But I feel
the essence of her.
And I think she’s helping
me understand more
about who we are, really.
Not limited beings trapped
in these bodies, you know?
– Karen Molenaar Terrell
My dear Humoristian hooligans,
I’ve found that just when I’m feeling the most discouraged, the most battle-weary, the most ready to slip into morosity (I’m pretty sure that’s a word, right?) something or someone will suddenly appear to remind me that the world is still full of magic and beauty. Yesterday it was snow geese, trumpeter swans, a reflection in a flooded field, and a son appearing unexpectedly at the door with a grin on his face and a caring heart. Today it was a drive I hadn’t been planning to take with Dad. And some days it’s YOU. Yes, YOU. I wonder if you realize all the times a kind word or a moment of shared laughter has brought me back from the brink. There is such power in kindness. There is such power in a loving gesture. You have the power to transform the world.
May your kindness reach the desolate and lonely; May your sense of humor light on those in desperate need of a good laugh; May your good-natured love of life transform the stodgy, stingy, and stuffy.
Amen.
Karen
Mount Baker reflected in a flooded field in Bow, Washington. (photo by Karen Molenaar Terrell)
My dear Humoristian hooligans –
2017 has been kind of a challenging year, and it’s made me all the more grateful for you. Our world has been blessed by you. Thank you for bringing laughter into a world in sorry need of a good laugh. Thank you for your kindness, and your honesty. Thank you for caring. May your irrepressible good humor and love of life continue to bring magic to our planet. You were made for these times. You are meant to be here.
Karen
Beloved children, the world has need of you, —and more as children than as men and women: it needs your innocence, unselfishness, faithful affection, uncontaminated lives.
– Mary Baker Eddy
I’m wondering how many upstanding, well-meaning men are looking back on their lives right now and trying to remember if they’ve ever unintentionally done anything that might be seen as sexual harassment. And if you’re one of those men who’s going through the files in your head – trying to remember if you’ve ever done something that might have caused someone else to feel uncomfortable or awkward – bless your heart. I’m guessing you’re no Sen. Moore or Harvey Weinstein. I’m pretty sure neither of those guys have ever spent a lot of time going through the files in their heads, self-reflecting. (And if you found you’ve done something you now regret, don’t do it again, okay? Onward and upward.)
On another note – it might be helpful if we could all identify the difference between flirting and harassment: I think sexual harassment is a one-sided thing – one person gets something from someone else without regard to what that other person wants or needs. Sexual harassment leaves the victim feeling humiliated, disrespected, and/or repulsed. Flirting, on the other hand, is a back-and-forth thing – everyone involved WANTS to be involved.
Be kind to one another. Be thoughtful. Be decent. Do right by each other.
– Mrs. T.
Do what’s decent before it’s considered “normal” – because someday it will be.
“Progress is the law of God…”
– Mary Baker Eddy
Went to pay the bill for my internet provider today. And ohmygosh! It was like going to a free comedy show! There were two women behind the counter and they were like a comedy team. The one on the left (I can’t remember her name and you’re going to understand why that’s really embarrassing in a moment) looked up at me and said, “Karen, right? I can’t remember your last name, though…” My mouth fell open. How in the world did she even know my first name?! Wave Broadband has, like, thousands of customers, right? So I told her my last name, and then asked her how she knew my name – told her she was brilliant. And this is when the woman on the right started shaking her head and made some crack – basically, agreeing with me that her partner is a genius – but agreeing in such a comical way that I started laughing out loud.
I mentioned that I’d heard they were moving tomorrow to a new location. And the one on the left – the brilliant one – said, “Yes, we’re moving to the main street – right across from where you used to go for your coffee…” Again, my mouth fell open.
The woman on the right shook her head again, and said, “Kind of creepy, isn’t it?” and got me laughing again.
And then the one on the left said, “I have a really good memory, and I especially remember the people who are nice to me.”
“I was nice to you?” I asked, trying to remember…
And she said, “Yes, one time you got here just as I was closing the office to go to lunch, and you were really understanding about it. A lot of customers get angry, but you were really nice and just said you’d come back later.”
The one on the right said something else to crack me up at this point – she had that straight-faced dead pan humor – and we all wished each other a good day and parted with good will towards each other.
It’s amazing the power in kind moments.
Well. What are you going to do, you know? Just keep on shining that light. Be kind. Be honest. Because what’s the alternative?
I know these moments don’t sound like big deals in the whole scheme of things – but – they mean something to me.
Today I went into the Safeway in Anacortes to get a mocha at the Starbucks there. After I got in the store I thought I should get some flour for pie-making. On the way to the flour I thought this might be a good time to get the cranberry sauce, too. Also dinner rolls. And sweet potatoes. Of course I hadn’t picked up a basket on my way in, because I thought I was just going to get a mocha, right? – so now I’m standing in a long Thanksgiving grocery-shopping line with my arms full. My arms are starting to get tired. Suddenly this young man appears – he doesn’t work at Safeway, he’s just another customer like myself – and he says, “I thought maybe you could use a basket” and hands me a basket to put all my stuff in. And I thank him profusely and take the basket and he smiles and goes on his way. People going out of their way to be kind to other people just tickles me. 
🙂 And, maybe it’s my imagination, but it seems like people have been making more of an effort to show kindness in the last couple weeks.
So when I’d come into Safeway there was a musician playing a banjo out front and I’d planned on giving him a tip – but now I saw him packing up – so before I bought my mocha I went out to put a buck in his banjo case – and he smiled and thanked me and I asked him if he’d like a coffee – and he said no, he was fine, but thanked me for the offer, and wished me a happy Thanksgiving.
I went back in the store to get my mocha – the original reason I’d come to Safeway in the first place – and the coffee machine wasn’t working. But it didn’t matter! I was meant to go in there today. 🙂
On the way back from Anacortes I suddenly got it in my noggin to stop off at the dike for a quick walk. There was only one other car there – a man and his corgi were about ten yards ahead of me on the trail. As soon as I stepped onto the path the corgi turned around and started running back to me – a big friendly grin on his face – like I was an old friend and he was just so happy to see me! So I reached out and petted him and his human called him back and he took one last look at me and then went back to his human and they went around a bend in the path. I walked along a little longer, and suddenly the dog came racing around the bend and ran back to me again – just had to give me one more greeting. I love happy dogs who see a new friend in every person they encounter.
And then that song came into my head – “My life flows on in endless song, above earth’s lamentation…” and I was just filled with such joy to be alive.
That is all. Carry on then…
Karen
One of our students was called a “nigger” in the Fred Meyer parking lot yesterday. This is not okay. I know my friends who are Republican do not like bigotry any more than I do. Whatever candidate you voted for – whatever party you align with – we need to come together right now and stand up for our brothers and sisters. We need to stand united for kindness.
Class –
There is a big difference between flirting and harassment. Flirting is a back-and-forth thing and both parties walk away feeling good about life. Harassment is not a back-and-forth thing – one human being is saying or doing something to another human being without concern for the other person’s feelings or well-being. It is disrespectful to the other person, and it leaves the victim feeling disgusted and/or humiliated and/or helpless. It stinks.
Be kind to one another.
– Mrs. Terrell
Adventures of the Madcap Christian Scientist 