Today, I reached a critical moment, code red, point of no return, everyone duck and run cause some stuff’s about to come lose and someone may lose an eye. My usually cool marble like exterior was cracking and the impeding pressure of steam was building momentum in preparation for an eruption of epic proportions. Right then, my friend had walked in and asked me what the problem was, big mistake as one of the cracks gave way and hot air started spewing from my mouth like someone had just thrown a Mentos down a shaken Coke bottle.
You know you’ve got one of the most amazing friends you could ever imagine when this happens: she flipped some sort of instant switch on her attitude panel and just threw both her arms around me, squeezed hard and said “I’ma hug the angry out of you until you can’t be angry anymore”. She shook me until I dropped the stack of papers and pen I was holding on the floor. I instantly turned in to a rag doll, my arms and hands were flapping around like useless limbs that had lost all feeling and I hung there letting the angry leave me. By the end of it we were both in hysterics and the rest of my day was seriously a pleasure.
I’m not one for having people in my bubble, even my closest friends I keep at a distance, but in that moment, she saw right past me and broke all barriers. Usually someone might say, “let it out, get angry, or I can’t believe that!” and that may help release some tension, but the way this pure act of love and compassion just cut right through all that coddling bull is a rare skill and I think only a few special people know how to harness its power.
She not only had taken me from one extreme to another, but she had shown me that she didn’t have to be taken down by my anger and instead gave her happiness to me, that’s a special type of person! Now, I don’t think I could go around just hugging the angry out of everyone, but perhaps in my own way I could cut through some nasty moments with a gift of pure selfless compassion and the ability not to get weighed down by the emotional muck.
It just goes to show, it doesn’t really matter what you’re doing or where you are, what matters is your perspective and it only takes one simple selfless act to change it.
** Sometimes the stuffing needs a wash
