Not on MY watch!
If I were asked to name one thing about myself, of which I am sure, I would have to say…I am made of sturdy “Not on MY watch!” stock. Certainly, I had excellent, service-oriented parental examples. But I think the rest has less to do with my Irish/English heritage and more to do with my truly Sagittarian nature. It’s almost comical how accurate it is when I read the official descriptions of my star sign. Some of the positive highlights are “…optimistic, lovers of freedom and hilarious.” I like to remind my friends of that last one every now and then. ;) Weaknesses are “lack of patience and lack of tact.” Again, that is accurate. And just as if they entered this information into the baby-making machine before it spit me out, “They are loyal and devoted to those around them and never neglect someone in need.”
Another ‘dead-on’ Sagittarian trait is that we are very compassionate and empathetic. So, when I see a friend who needs help, I rally the troops, and we 'get it done' the best way we know how…we put on a show! I never thought about it as anything other than helping a friend, but then a friend opened my eyes to a very important bi-product of my do-goodery. By doing all these benefits, I had learned how to write, direct, and produce a show! Although grateful, I would give up every one of those skills if it meant there was never a need for ANY of those benefits. But, I accept that is just fantasy. People will keep getting cancer. People will lose their livelihoods. People will continue to need help.
In my accepting that there will never be a time in my lifetime when people don’t need help, I will remain grateful for:
the human capacity for kindness
generosity of spirit
the sheer magical electricity created by a group of humans simultaneously acting out of pure love for one another
And I will be forever proud of EVERY one of my friends and colleagues in our arts community for always stepping up and volunteering before even being asked to help another human, be they friend or stranger. These beautiful, open hearts stand on watch and at the ready.
