...That's What She Said

I received an email this morning that read, "Please be advised that the building will be testing the fire alarms today at 1 PM - please do not be alarmed." I'm hoping that I won't be away at lunch when this occurs so that I can jump out of my seat and yell, "I'm not alarmed, by the alarm!" Hehehe... It's the little things around the office that always seem to amuse me the most.

Speaking of email, I received a general one this morning that sparked inspiration for this entry based on a healthy debate held over the telephone last night. I was told that appreciation is a cousin to resentment. I adamantly disagreed with this statement. I offered examples from my own life as proof that appreciation is a good emotion & couldn't be linked to resentment. One that was a current example was the fact that I spent hours last night washing and waxing my friend's car after work out of appreciation for her letting me borrow it this week while mine's in the shop. She loaned it to me with no expectation of retribution, just as a favor because that's what friends do for each other. I detailed it because I know she has an injured back and wouldn't be able to perform the task without causing herself pain and because I was thankful that I didn't have to spend extra money renting a car. If the situation were ever reversed, I wouldn't want her to wash my car, I wouldn't expect to gain anything from it... I just enjoy the fact that I can help people I care about. When you have a good relationship, things tend to even out. I also used the example of cooking dinner every week for my group of friends. I do it because I appreciate their companionship. They appreciate my culinary skills and bring wine and entertainment. We all appreciate each other. I even went so far as to bring up charity. Soup kitchens, for instance... the people who volunteer to feed the hungry do not expect to get anything in return, they do it because they like the feeling they get from helping others. Perhaps those who provide the funding for such organizations do it for other reasons, but there is some good behind the scenes. Pardon me for going off subject for a moment, but this lead to a tangent about selfless acts. Do they exist? The more I examined it, the more I decided it's not possible. For example, I received an email at work yesterday about the wildlife refuge that may have to close down due to the hurricanes. It asked that anyone wanting to help send a check in any dollar amount. I thought to myself, now there's a selfless act... I love animals and I want to help. However, the fact that helping the animals makes me feel good proves that I'm getting something in return. Then a follow-up email this morning sealed the deal. It said something along the lines of, "I've been getting a lot of questions as to whether a donation to the Back to Nature Center is tax deductible. The answer is yes." If anyone can bring to my attention a true selfless act, I'd love to hear it. Ok, now back to the gratitude issue... the soup kitchen example back-fired on me. The homeless people who eat the free food most certainly feel some sort of resentment toward those serving it to them. The reason behind this negativity is because the less fortunate know that they can never repay their debt. The relationship between the volunteer and the vagrant is unbalanced... so the conclusion that I have come to is this: only when the scales are tipped can appreciation turn into resentment, positivity turn into negativity, love turn into hate.