Skin on

“There is a story I live by, which I have been telling my Sunday school kids for thirty years now, and which they never tire of, or least have the good sense to still pretend to enjoy if they have any hope of getting snacks. A young girl is having a hard time falling asleep one night and calls out for her mother. Her mother comes in and gently tucks her in again and assures her that Jesus is there in the room with her, so she needn’t be afraid. This goes on and on, each time the increasingly annoyed mother saying basically the same thing until finally, in the dark, the little girl says plaintively, “I need someone with skin on.” This is the main instruction that I would leave my family in my swag bag of spiritual truth: Be goodness with skin on.”

~ Anne Lamott, Somehow

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But how? It can all seem so daunting. It can all feel too big. It can all feel far too small to make a difference, but it’s not.

Let’s brainstorm, prime the pumps…

50 quick and dirty ways to be goodness with skin on:

Send a text.
Write a letter.
Pick up the phone.
Check in.
Smile. At people. And Trees. Also birds and rivers.
Pass your cart along at Aldi and refuse the quarter.
Carry a couple of bucks for the homeless guy on the Walmart corner.
Listen.
Ask.
Pick up the bottle cap on the trail. You won’t get rabies or COVID. Don’t lick it.
Don’t think of what you’re going to say next.
Hold the door.
Recycle.
Create something. Maybe even share it and spread the light.
Take a breath.
Hold your ear to the ground.
Listen.
Ask.
Share your sandwich.
Make a meal.
Take a load to Goodwill.
Pick up your socks.
Pick up your partner’s socks. Secretly.
Give someone flowers. Someone you love. Someone you don’t even know.
Thank a tree. Hugs are good.
Listen.
Ask.
Give yourself ten seconds in the shoes of the one you want to choke.
Read to someone who can’t do it themselves anymore.
Read to someone who can’t do it themselves yet.
Look up.
Give in.
Wave. At strangers. Say hi (feel free to skip the last if you’re in your car).
Leave your campsite cleaner than when you arrived (I’m not talking about campsites).
Look the person in front of you in the eye.
Listen.
Ask.
Brush your teeth with 1% less water.
Plant some flowers.
Don’t yell at the guy who just cut you off. With your voice or your fingers.
Meditate. Slow it down. Reconnect.
Go in and pet shelter animals.
Volunteer.
Send people random and anonymous cash in the mail when you’re flush.
Sing. Loudly.
Have a potluck. Invite too many people.
Ask the confused 87-year-old lady in the grocery aisle if you can help.
Listen.
Ask.

That should keep us busy for tonight.

Time to love louder.

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“It’s all grassroots, the actions to help another person, one’s self, Earth, just small, kind actions… We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.”
~ Anne Lamott, Somehow