Thursday, August 22, 2013

The Kindness in Sharing the Madness

"You're only given a little spark of madness.  You mustn't lose it."
– Robin Williams

One of the Kindness Muses shared this Robin Williams quote this morning.  There is a wonderful madness about Robin Williams -- a lunacy that makes us smile and laugh.

After reading that quote, I shared with my friend that when people tell me that I am brave, my reply is that there is a thin line between bravery and lunacy.  As I thought about the quote, I realized that there is kindness to be found in some of our madness.

Sometimes, kindness requires taking a risk, doing something a little crazy -- even if it is as small a lunacy as reaching out when we normally wouldn't.  Or giving a gift that might seem over the top, whether in terms of the money or our time.  A couple of years ago, a very good friend of mine gave me an iPad.  It was an extraordinary gift and I was so touched I cried.  It wasn't about how expensive a gift it was (although it was that, too).  I was bowled over because I knew that it was a crazy kind of thing for this particular person, who is very measured in most of the things she does.  There was incredible thoughtfulness and kindness in her going to that nutty place, so outside her comfort zone.  And that is what meant the world to me.  I have done a couple of crazy kind things in my life, things that I wondered whether it made sense to do at the time, and, predictably, I have no regrets.

Wonderful things can happen when we let that little spark of madness take us to a kind and crazy place.

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