The Kindness of Others

I can be quite a pessimist, I hate to admit. What's strange is that I'm entirely optimistic about the lives of just about everyone around me; yet when it comes to my own, I can easily get fixated on the badness rather on what's going right.

Throughout the past couple of years though, I've done quite a bit of reading on the subject of happiness. One thing the researchers seem to say over and over again is that those who are happiest tend to also be the most grateful. Focusing on the positive forces in their lives, these people make a concerted effort to actively appreciate those things on a frequent (oftentimes daily) basis. Seems like a pretty good way to do life if you ask me. Therefore, I've been trying my best to focus on the things for which I am grateful. Sometimes, this proves to be quite a difficult chore. However, in the past couple of weeks, it's been easy peasy. Why? Because I have some truly wonderful people in my life. Here is my list of their random acts of kindness for which I am so very grateful:

Rachael's List of Warm Fuzzies
- The friends who opened their home to accept Baxter the Cat.
- Learning that one of my charges had said to his mom, "I wish Rachael wasn't going to GerNaMy."
- Multiple instances of friends swiping the bill from me.
- Hugs when the stress led to tears.
- Fun CD mixes as well as a used Ipod when I was losing my mind over my lack of music.
- A surprise bonus/goodbye present from one of the families I nanny for.
- A surprise check in the mail from my mom for "things that might come up!"
- Kind words from strangers at LaGuardia International post airport security freak-out with cat.
- The most precious hugs and kisses from my niece.
- The doorman I got to know from taking care of little Ethan, being goofy and singing, "It's so hard to say goodbye to yesterday..." when I announced I was leaving for Berlin.
- Tons of advice and encouragement from Berlin friends who knew I could get myself back here with a little help.
- A friend's constant assistance in all of my moving the past couple of months, offering up storage, helping with heavy boxes and suitcases, and dealing with crappy traffic in order to give me a ride all the way to Newark on his Sunday afternoon.
- Sweet cards from good friends along with all sorts of "Good luck!" wishes from people I barely even know.

And now here I am, staring at this magnificent view from my new Berlin pad, jet lagged but ever so grateful that I am here. I don't even care that it's cloudy and drizzling. I'm cozy and content with my cup of tea, ready for more goodness to come.