Marianka Mojo :: The Gift of Peace

I want to talk about Marianka.  She’s a twenty-something neighbor, whom I know only through a high-school friend, whom I haven’t seen for 30 years (her husband), and both of whom live a mere 10 minutes away from me. She is a spectacular woman.  She changed me, for the better.  Here’s the gig:

Okay, giving forward.  Do unto others.  Live for the living.  Random acts of kindness.

You’ve heard of these concepts . . . where people “give just to give” – without any greater reward than having done something good for someone else.

I know I’ve been a recipient of these deeds in my life, and I hope I’ve acknowledged them to the fullest, and returned the favor – because dammit, I’m compelled to return the favor.  I can’t have people doing something for me for free!

You see my mindset here?

It’s a selfish mindset, this I’ve now realized . . . for the giving is greater than the gift. And to not accept the gift is to deny someone the pleasure of giving.  And I won’t be doing that anymore, thanks to Marianka.

She “noticed” that I’d been “overloaded” and offered to help me out, through a private message on Facebook.  Desperate, I said YES and offered to pay her.  She said “whatever” and came to pick up the business.  I said “whatever” and gave it to her, knowing I would find a way to pay her. She ending up spending countless hours packaging books and pledge prizes and addressing near 100 postcards . . . all for the benefit of a successful Kickstarter campaign called “Increasing Wingspan – Buzzard’s Myth”.

I’d given her a week’s deadline and she had it done in two days.  Off my chest, forward progress, all thanks to this incredible young lady.

And then she said, in a nutshell, THANK YOU for letting me help you. 

For the first time in my life – honestly, the first time – I knew without reservation she meant what she said.  I would never take that away from her.  I cherish her too much to ever take away her joy.  I selfishly treasure that experience, the joy she gave me, the peace, the lighter load.  It changed my week, changed my life.

This is Marianka Mojo.  Pass it on. 

— from the heart of  Jan Fix, wordshaper