In that sense, I guess you could say she's my fave. But anyways.
Incidentally, I'm also named after her (and one of my dad's aunts, but my mom came up with the idea).
My favorite poem written by Dickinson is this:
"If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain."
I've always had a heart for helping things. Animals, plants, people, you name it. When I was little, I used to collect and raise the eggs and caterpillars of some butterflies that I found out were endangered so I could try to help repopulate them. I wanted to be a veterinarian, then a physical therapist, and finally I found my calling in health and nutrition. People tend to ask me now, "don't nutritionists like, make a lot of money? You can be a celebrity coach!"
Yeah, I could.
Or I could help people who actually need it, like a family who can't afford healthy food or the sick people in hospitals who don't know how to start their new lifestyle, or the girl in the outpatient program for eating disorders who insists that she's not beautiful or worth anything.
This doesn't just apply to my career, though. I (and you!) should be striving every day to ease the burden of someone else. We all have our problems, but we can also use those problems to help others through their own. We all know what pain and suffering and fear feels like, so why are we so often indifferent towards others'?
One of the reasons I'm so super-stoked about my new job at Dutch Bros. is the company's whole mission: to love people! I'm literally going to get paid to make people's days just that much brighter. But regardless of whether I'm being paid or not, I want to reflect positivity and joy into others' lives.
This week, I'm challenging myself to start a new habit brightening someone's day, every day. I challenge you to do the same! It doesn't have to be a grand gesture; it can be as small as smiling at a stranger or paying for someone else at the coffee stand. Don't do it for recognition or because you think you'll get some "good karma". Do it to be kind. Do it to be loving and genuine.
I helped my littlest brother with his homework today, something that I'm not usually around to be able to do.
I think you'll find that as you shine some light into others' lives, you might just find your own brightening, too.
Don't live in vain.
Ephesians 2:10
"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."
