I was having lunch with my friend Athena at the Round House Cafe, when I looked up and there was Bob from the Mansion.
We said hello and he handed me and Athena a little chocolate bar with a note stapled to it.
You are the recipient of a random act of kindness, it said.
Julie, who works at The Mansion was walking around town with Bob as he distributed the treats.
The last time I was at the Mansion Bob told me a story of how in 1968 he was paid to rent a convertible and drive a Massachusetts Senator down to Florida.
On the same day, Alice, who also lives at The Mansion, told me of how when she was a kid, sometimes there was so much snow her father would walk ahead of her to school and he would tamp down the snow with his feet, so she could walk in it.
It’s pretty great having a place like The Mansion in town. Although, before Jon and I started visiting it, I didn’t even know it existed.
Now I look forward to calling Bingo on Friday nights and I can’t wait to get the clay Jon ordered. I can see making coil pots with Joan, who had vision problems and is looking for something to do, and some of the other people who live there.
And sometimes I like to just sit down on the couch in the activity room and have a conversation or hear a good story, like Alice’s.
A friend just sent me an article about how when we use our hands it alters the chemistry in our brains and makes us happier. This would explain why doing things like knitting can be so enjoyable. Not only are you using your hands, but you also have something to show for it when your done.
They even did a study with rats and found the rats who had to dig a hole to get their food were less stressed than the rats who didn’t have to do anything to get their food.
This is one of those things that some of us just seem to intuitively know, or learn from experience.
It’s important to have some kind of work to do. And even better if that work can result in something achieved.
Like Bobs random act of kindness.
