The Ministry of Happiness

Perspective, Happiness & Goodbye to the Dude

Today’s post might it some ways seem like a sad one, but it’s not.  I’ve included the original post below, it’s a simple story of really good people, coming together to help a really good person, a friend who we called the Dude.  Unfortunately last night the Dude passes away, the same angels that came together to buy him the car below, at his side and in his orbit as he passed away, and yes, that part is sad.  However, a part of what being happy is all about, is perspective.  There will always be sadness and misery in the world, people will always pass, disasters will always happen.  But we decide what perspective we choose take in regard to all of these events near and far.

This morning, even though my heart is breaking for those closest to the Dude, I want to focus on the people around him, the true selected family that were loved by, and loved this man as well as any of us do our blood relatives.  He was a truly wonderful man,  a gentle soul, an open and loving book who will live on in the hearts of the people he encountered.  So today hug those closest to you or drop them a line, it’s all too brief, so have a happy day my friends, it’s your choice and we get too few of them ~ Rev Kane

RIP Dude

There are Angels among us: A true story of kindness & giving

There are Angels among us, maybe not in the white light and wings sense of the word, but Angels none-the-less.  Especially this time of year you often hear stories about acts of kindness and inevitably it was your friend’s cousin’s accountant’s daughter or some other such nonsense.  This story however I have pretty direct knowledge of, it occurred in Seattle recently and the main person involved works with one of my best friends.

The thing about Angels is they are often those you would logically least suspect, you expect Angels to be those with more than enough to give, those who have been blessed with much in this life.  In fact, it has been my experience that Angels have a tendency to be those who have an understanding of how tough things can be, people who get how difficult and unfair this life sometimes is for all of us.

This story contains two such Angels, the first we shall refer to solely as, The Dude.  The Dude you see has had an incredibly difficult year, lady luck it seems has taken a vacation from his life for a time.  I won’t get into the details but suffice it to say you or I would not be interested in trading places with him, it has been a difficult year personally and financially.

While at his job he happened upon a bank envelope, in the envelope, which was unlocked, there was no deposit slip, no identifying information only a brass frog and twenty-thousand dollars.  At that moment I wonder how many of us would have just fallen to our knees and thanked the universe for the gift we had just received.  But the The Dude, well The Dude doesn’t think like the rest of us and he called the police and reported the find.  Somewhat simultaneously the owner also called and reported the find.  They all agreed to meet on the street, when The Dude arrived he saw a very old woman talking to the police.  When he produced the bag she quickly went to it and pulled out the frog and began crying, seemingly uninterested in the money.

You see it turned out the woman was a Holocaust survivor and the frog was one of the few family heirlooms that she possessed.  The money it turns out was money she donates each year to local churches and homeless shelters to help those who are less fortunate have a happy holiday.

I know why The Dude and the old woman found each other, you see the Angels among us operate on a different plane than we do, and so it’s not so hard for them to find each other when they need to do that.  She of course offered him a reward, he of course declined it, Angels give of themselves and those altruistic acts are their reward.

This is the second amazing act my friend has relayed about this Angel this year.  Earlier this year, again while at work, a man fell down the stairs when his dog unexpectedly lurched.  He hit his head hard enough for two wounds to open and his head to start hemorrhaging.  The Dude jumped into action and held a towel to the man’s head to control the bleeding as an ambulance was called.   As so often happens when you try to help someone in distress, the old man misunderstood and thinking he was being attacked grabbed The Dude squarely by the balls!  Most of us might have pulled back at that point but Angels help even if it means sacrifice.  Soon the man realized he was being helped and let go, he was taken in the ambulance and his life might literally have been saved by The Dudes action.  So as the holidays roll around, and you start to feel like the world has gone uber-commercial, that real kindness and goodness don’t exist, take a moment and meditate on the actions of The Dude and let his image below, bring you a smile.  Thanks Dude, we’re all better off for you being here.

Please comment if this story moved you, The Dude will read your replies, if you want to send your thoughts more directly to him, feel free to e-mail me at happinesskane@aol.com and I will pass on whatever you like to The Dude and as always have a happy day my friends ~ Rev Kane