We have a neighbor who is disabled. She's as sweet as can be and has a little yappy puppy named Panda that the kids love (even if he doesn't love them). We don't see much of her, especially in the winter as I'm certain she's in more pain.
We try to help her out, even though she has a nurse or aide that visits her daily. The kids help with the garbage cans on garbage day, we drop off cookies, shovel her sidewalk. It's just the thing that neighbors do.
Today when I prepped dinner (stuffed shells) I had extra. So, I put some in a small pan, wrote down the baking instructions and walked it over to our neighbor.
I'm not telling this story to brag. I'm telling this story because after hearing her thank you's and seeing the smile on her and her aide's faces, I had a sudden rush that has done more for my pain level than even my best medication. And it got me thinking: When we remove ourselves from our stuff and immerse ourselves completely into someone else, even if just for a moment, we can't help but gain euphoria from it. Healing, nurturing, good feelings!
I didn't do anything grand. I didn't really do anything. I had leftovers. I walked 50 feet next door. But for a few moments my heart was with someone else, a stranger. Not caught up in my aches and pains and struggles. And it felt amazing.
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