The Good Things

I am constantly amazed at the power of human beings. Truly. I am amazed at how warm the hand of a complete stranger can be, reaching out. This is the post I was going to put up last night, but I'm glad I held off because now I have even more amunition to build the case that there are truly beautiful selfless people in the world.

I'll start with the most recent stuff. I want to give huge thanks to both Kiss Tony and Tristan for featuring State the Radio on their blogs, and for their comment. It is humbling to be the recipient of such anonymous generosity and kindness, and it really makes me feel good to know that connections can be so easily made between people when the need is there. Going to bed feeling like shit sucks, nobody likes that, but when you wake up to a simple act of kindness and care such as that, you can't help but know that the day is going to be brighter. I strongly encourage people to check out both Kiss Tony's blog [http://kisstony.blogspot.com/], and Tristan's blog [http://thegenesischildren.wordpress.com/], especially if you are a gay teen looking for some proof that other people like you exist in the world.

The original idea for this post came from a conversation I had with rightmeupnow. We were talking about how the little tiny things, the completely unknown hands reaching out from the darkness to try and pull you up, can mean so much more than alot of people think. A smile from a stranger can be the difference between a shitty day and an ok day, and a simple compliment can pull somebody from the edge of hopelessness. Rightmeupnow and I both know this from experience, and I'm sure there are many people out there who have experienced these "random acts" of kindness before and have had their days brightened up by total strangers.

I won't ramble on with the details of every single time I've been impressed by the simple kindness of human beings, but I will share the story I shared with rightmeupnow during our conversation. There's not much to it, really, but I guess thats sort of the point: I had been having a rough couple of days, and I was sitting in Spanish class one morning and the teacher came up to me out of the blue and asked (in Spanish) if I was ok. This is a teacher I have always admired for her bright personality and genuine interest in the wellbeing of her students, but even so I was surprised by this; I hadn't really thought I'd been acting any differently than normal. I was surprised, and I was touched by the fact that she was perceptive enough to notice the minute change in character I must have had. All she said was "estás bien?" meaning roughly "are you ok?", but she kind of kneeled down next to my chair and said it quietly. She wasn't creepy about it or anything, and she didnt act like it was a big deal, she just asked and didn't persue the point when I said "sí, estoy bien". What was really humbling, though, was that the next week she came up to me again and, smiling, said that I looked better this week and that she was glad. She didn't say anything else, didn't ask questions, she just made the quiet comment and then continued on with the class.

I can't help but feel deeply moved by such selfless caring. I think that is probably the characteristic I admire most among people, and to me these people are angels in their own right. Many people who have an impact on somebody in this way will probably never know how much they affected the person they complimented or smiled at or talked to, yet it really can make a world of difference to a person who is struggling.

It doesn't have to be anonymous of course. I can't count the number of times that I have had my day brightened by rightmeupnow, simply asking how I'm doing or even just talking to me about any old subject.

There is a State Radio song that goes, "people to people are so unjust..." While I think that this is true all over the world in many situations, there are also countless unheard and untold examples of people doing a simple justice to someone else. It is important to remember that when somebody is falling, they don't look at the hands that are reaching down to grab them, but instead reach back and clasp those hands with all their strength.

So please, keep this in mind. If you ever find yourself in a position of being able to reach out a hand, know that that simple gesture can make all the difference.

And on a final note, we'd really love to hear any stories of anonymous kindness and generosity that you readers might have, whether it be something that somebody has said or done to you to brighten your day up, or something you've witnessed or heard about. If you have a story and feel like sharing, send it to statetheradio@gmail.com. It would be cool to start a page of "anonymous kindness experiences" or something to that effect.

[see the State the Radio blog here http://statetheradio.wordpress.com/ for this post in full context]