Baby What A Big Surprise

So yesterday in the middle of a restless afternoon, I had a private message come through on my Twitter account. I have to confess I have a love/hate relationship with that particular medium. I find many of the voices tiresome - a broken record of shouting without hearing - entrenchment and bleating that never wavers from its one-way alley - just a steady stream of the same predictable responses from people I do not know but have already assessed and largely dismissed. I hover and when something strikes me as particularly egregious - madly start typing - cursing the character limits - and become just another decibel in the noisy landscape - full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. However, yesterday the message I received was from a reporter, one who worked at one of Vancouver's major dailies, but recently bravely took a leap away from that security and is pursuing her passions elsewhere. She was and is a fine reporter -the kind all journalists should aspire to be - fair, insightful, precise in her words - and knew her subject and beat better from the side-lines than many playing on the field. Anyway, we didn't have many occasions to connect in my former job but did interact from time to time depending on the issue du jour. Her mission in writing to me was to say she had been reading this blog and offered some very kind, touching words about what I have shared that warmed my heart. I thought about what it takes to actually take the time to extend yourself to a virtual stranger - to pass on something that might make them feel good, with no guarantee of reciprocation - to take that extra step to act on what might be swirling through your mind - some appreciation that we don't have the time or inclination to express. So it is the gesture, as much as the beautiful words, that stand out - fill my heart - blanket the ugly noise with something so much more sweet-sounding.