I have a new friend, Jo, who also doubles as a healthcare provider.  She recently emailed me to ask if we could reschedule an appointment we had scheduled 2 weeks prior.  When I read her reason, my heart squeezed in compassion and tears came to my reading eyes, not only for the tragedy that she was sharing, but also for the immense kindness she was revealing.   Jo shared with me that one of her clients, who had only recently moved to our Middle Tennessee area and had no friends or family close by, called her in hysterics on Tuesday morning.  Her client's husband had been admitted to the hospital over the past weekend because he was feeling achy and yucky.  He also then suddenly, and with shocking unexpectedness, died.  This new widow was completely alone in a new city with only one person she knew she could trust.   She called Jo.  And Jo knew immediately what she had to do.  There were no questions, there were no pauses, there were no maybes.  She just "did" what so many of us forget to do when we hear of someone who needs something.  She went to her client's side to be there while she waited for family to arrive from out-of-town.  She went to comfort the unconsolable.  She went to just "be" where she was needed.  Jo's example reminds us that an opportunity to be kind can come at any time and in any form, but it's up to us to step into the role.  It's up to us to let go of our habits of keeping our lives ordered and controlled and tightly calendared.  And, to let go of our tendencies to keep to ourselves, lest our hearts get broken.  To embrace who we really are - beings of love, empathy, compassion, and kindness.  Thank you, Jo for being you and being a beautiful portrait of kindness for someone who so desperately needed it.  You are also now that portrait for complete strangers. 

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