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
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