Last Wednesday I was at an event for Pamoja Charity in Delray Beach. On my drive there while I'm spraying my hairspray in the car and changing into my dress at the stop light- because I was late ofcourse, I found myself confused. Why am I going to volunteer somewhere right now when I have so many things to pay for and plenty of issues in my own life to take care of? Sounds selfish but when you have a lot on your plate and people tell you to "prioritize," the last thing you are thinking of is how you can help someone else. Anyways I had given my word so I stuck to it.
I arrive at the Crest Theatre on Atlantic Avenue in the milk chocolate mini dress with a cropped black jacket and curly hair like "Heyyy I'm Farrah Fawcet." I meet the other girls who are volunteering with me and they set us up at the front desk to check people in. This charity sends children in Africa to school; for thirty dollars they can go for an entire semester completely paid. So when people walked in to the event it was my job to get their mailing information, give them a picture of the child they were sponsoring, and smile like the Barbie that I am. After everyone bustled through the doors it was time for the show they came to enjoy, which we were allowed to go attend.
David Stebbins is a comedian and I had previously been to one of his acts before. He's a recovered drug addict and his stand up isn't written tales and jokes about celebrities, it's his life story and endeavors that he has encountered and overcome. He tries to explain how smoking crack saved his life at one point, it's a riveting show that literally makes you laugh, cry and ponder in depth about life's most important questions at once. So as I said before I wasn't at the best place in my life on this Wednesday night, but I do believe everything happens for a reason and now I know why I was asked to volunteer at this event.
You know when you watch a movie for the second time and you pick up a ton of things you missed the first time that you saw it? You just understand it better. This is how listening to David was for me last Wednesday. I had heard this same story before but this time I heard more of it and it had a profound effect on my thinking.
The ending story that stuck in my mind is that after he tells you the adventures he experienced (such as getting arrested, overdosing on drugs, losing family members, etc.) he had a single moment on a plane where he had an epiphany. He said he was thinking about the story with the little Indian and the chief, where the chief tries to explain that every living person lives a double life because they have a dark side and a light side which are constantly battling. The Indian asks which side wins. The chief responds by saying, "whichever side you feed into." Looking back onto all of his life changing mistakes and path of misery, David said he asked himself one question, "Do I want to live my life righteously or destructively?" He chose righteously and was pleased to see how easy life became and how much things changed in a positive way.
It was after midnight when I got out of the show and opposed to usually having my stereo blasting with Drake, I drove in silence. I drove with my Farrah Fawcet hair and the window down to the Cheesecake Factory and had my lonely self a glass of wine at the bar where there was low music and dimmed lights; and I asked myself the question. Do I want to live righteously or destructively? I have been feeding the dark side- many of us have. Make a change if things aren't what they should be.
Before last Wednesday I was complaining and stressing about all my problems, but as soon as I left that night I was happy, relieved, and on my way to a righteous life. Live it and love it.
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