Surrounded by goodness

In the past five or so years, I've worked really hard to cultivate my network of friends and acquaintances, to rid myself of drama and emotional vampires, and to strengthen bonds with people who are kind, and who are real.

These past couple of months have brought home hard the success of that endeavor. For whatever reason, the people I know have been hit again and again with difficulties. From fellow surrogates dealing with early labor and other struggles, to illnesses of parents and children, to just plain postpartum fatigue, my friends have been struggling. But while that makes me shake my fist at the heavens and shout at the Universe, "C'MON, GIVE MY FRIENDS A BREAK," the thing that really gets me is the response from everyone else I know.

Every single time something bad has happened to one of my friends or acquaintences, someone else has come out of the woodwork to hold out a virtual contribution plate. And without fail, everyone else responds. My friends span the gamut of religiosity and politics: atheists, protestants, mormons, catholics, liberal and conservative. But they are all just plain good people, and they have been proving it in spades lately. There seems to be virtually no altruism fatigue. Despite the fact that it has happened over and over and over again, EVERY time, the kind people I've surrounded myself with step up and offer meals, money, time, and good thoughts to those in need.

Yet no matter how often it happens, I continue to be moved by the goodness that surrounds me. My faith in humanity continues to be restored and renewed, one crisis at a time. ♥