Blue Ridge Country January/February 2021 - 8
MILL CREEK STORIES
Kindness Matters
And it can happen in an unexpected place, with unexpected players.
By MOLLY DUGGER BRENNAN | Illustration by JOSEPH MACKERETH
I
look at the world through different eyes every year.
What I valued in my 20s seems pitifully shallow
now. My 30s were spent chasing what I thought was
success, but once achieved felt unsatisfying. It was
like waiting for a steak you'd ordered and the waiter serving you a cardboard replica complete with a
parsley garnish.
Of course, my 40s and 50s were spent trying to find
the real reason for it all. Soul searching and all that, you
know. What did I need to add to my life to live more
beautifully? And I don't mean beautifully in the Southern
Living perfectly decorated home kind of way. I mean to
be a better person, to become a more beautiful personality and person in my community.
What is curious to me is that you don't become more
by adding. You become more by subtracting. Subtracting the too-many promises, the marginal obligations, the
things you think you're supposed to do but just add more
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stress than they're worth to your life.
Don't get me wrong. I am certainly not qualified to
give anyone life advice. I do think I get a little smarter
with each passing year and if I live to be 150, I might just
get my own life figured out and in order. So I was bundled
up, sitting on my porch here in the Shenandoah Valley,
enjoying the most stunning full moon I had seen in a
long while, when I realized what I admire and value most
in myself and others. Kindness.
If a person takes the time to slow down and be kind
to someone who can do nothing for them in return, I am
full of admiration for them. If a person is kind to someone in need and asks for no recognition, I love them. If a
person does what's right no matter how inconvenient, I
want them as my friend.
Who is my best example of true pure kindness? Don't
laugh, but it's my therapy dog Biscuit and I will tell you
a story that explains why. Most every night we gather
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Blue Ridge Country January/February 2021
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Blue Ridge Country January/February 2021
Blue Ridge Country January/February 2021 - Cover1
Blue Ridge Country January/February 2021 - Cover2
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Blue Ridge Country January/February 2021 - Cover3
Blue Ridge Country January/February 2021 - Cover4
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