Today is the first Thursday since I decided to embark on Therapeutic Thursdays. I came up with an idea last night of what I wanted to do, but when I awoke this morning, I wasn't feeling well. I hoped that I could shake the fatigue and go out after a couple hours, but it didn't happen, so I shelved my original idea for a different week, and went back to the drawing board.
To be honest, I've wrestled way more with this than I needed to over the last twenty-four hours, and I found myself falling into a few traps. The main one was that I started to try to think of someone who "deserved" something special, then realized that defeated the point! I want to spread love to all, not just those who "deserve" it! I also found that the more I thought about what I wanted to do, the more I worried that people would think I was crazy, and I stressed about how I would explain why I was giving away what I was giving if I got "caught".
The act itself was completely uneventful. We had some Regal Cinemas gift cards that were given to us as a Christmas gift, but hadn't used yet. I used a blank card I had, wrote "Please enjoy a movie on us.", and enclosed the gift cards. On the way to pick up the kids, I left it in the stroller on the doorstep of a family who lives down the street from us. They have three young children, kindergarten and under. I've said hi to them many times, but have never officially met them, so they qualify as strangers ;-).
All in all, the first Therapeutic Thursday went off well. Those of you who have joined me on this adventure, please comment below with your stories. I'm hoping that we will all be inspired by what others have done, and may even get some ideas of our own from your adventures.
I mentioned in one of my previous posts that God is using my cancer to heal me of some past hurts. I was pondering this last night when I couldn't sleep and I came up with an idea that I'd like your help with. Let me explain how.
One of the outcomes of the two years leading up to my cancer was that I really began to believe that most people are cruel and heartless and that most of us really don't care about others. My cancer journey has helped me to realize that this is not the case. Many, many people, even perfect strangers, have shown me so much love, and I would like to take this a step further. I'm hoping you will join me.
I'm going to start Therapeutic Thursdays. Every Thursday, no matter how sick, weak, or tired I feel, I plan to intentionally show love to a stranger. The reason I decided to do this toward strangers is that I find it easy to love on the people I like. It can be much harder to do if I don't know if the person "deserves" my love or not. I've also found that some of the moments that have warmed, and healed, my heart the most have been when I've been shown love from someone who didn't even know me.
Sometimes, Therapeutic Thursday may mean paying for the coffee for the people behind me in the Starbucks line. Maybe it will come in the form of flowers and a card on the doorstep of one of my neighbors that I have never met. Perhaps I will pack a picnic lunch, head down to a park, and have lunch with a homeless person. On a cold, rainy day, I may buy an extra cup of coffee and give it to someone, with a hug. (By the way, you would be surprised how many people are receptive to hugs from strangers. It's a free way to put a smile on someone's face, but make sure you ask first, or they might call the cops ;-).) I'm hoping many of you will have your own ideas of what Therapeutic Thursday could look like. The sky is the limit, really. Every Thursday, I will blog about the experience and am hoping that many of you will jump on board and comment about your own experiences. I'd like to show the world that love still abounds and I'd like to inspire us all to make a conscious effort to spread it.
It would mean a lot to me if you would join me on this journey. Do your own deeds of kindness and comment on the Therapeutic Thursday posts with your own stories. If you would like a reminder, comment on this post and I will email or text you (whichever you'd prefer) a reminder every Thursday morning, starting tomorrow. Let's bring some smiles back into this world!
