Maxine is a Hallmark Card character, known as the queen of crabbiness. In her words, “I yell it like it is, and if I don’t like how it is, I yell it like it ought to be.” Maxine is not someone you associate with kindness, but when I recently saw her play, “A Maxine Christmas Carol,” it made me realized how important kindness really is. The first act was full of crabbiness. There were minutes of truth that were quite funny but the play did a great job in showing Maxine’s crabby side almost to the point of being uncomfortable.
For me the second act focused on two kindness themes. The first theme is that we all can make a difference in someone’s life no matter what our job. We all can enable a miracle for someone or at least bring a moment of joy. To do so, we need to step out the patterns of our life and sometimes rules need to bend. An example is Monica, who was bold to dress like Maxine to the play. Monica brought joy that day to the people in lobby and even took pictures with some of the fellow audience members. When you looked at her, you just had to smile. What fun she had by not being herself.
It is not hard to have memorable days with friends, but many times we just don’t bother. Thanks to Sharon for arranging that fun day. A day we will all remember with fondness. How can you bring joy to a friend?
The second kindness theme was about being kind to yourself so you can be kind to others. It was evident that Maxine was crabby and miserable because she was miserable inside. In the second act, she learned to be more vulnerable with friends and family. Part of the reason she has such a hard facade is because she wanted to ensure she wasn’t hurt. The problem with having such a hard shell is that it prevents love from entering. Maxine had to be kind to herself before she could be kind to others. She had to accept being vulnerable to find more connection with those in her life.
We see what we look for, if you look to see what is wrong, that is what you will see. When you put kindness in the world that is what will come back to you.
Staying in Touch: Barbara Hirsh can be reached at info@LiveKinder.com I love hearing your kindness stories. Please sign-up for almost weekly kindness message at www.LiveKinder.com or follow LiveKinder on Facebook!
