A Gift But Also A Curse

So a little more depth to the title of this blog. If you were to find a single word to describe me it would be; Altruistic. Now altruism is defined as; 1: unselfish regard or devotion for the welfare of others, 2: behavior by an animal that is not beneficial or maybe harmful to itself but that benefits others of its kind.
Yeah, that's me alright. Constantly on the lookout for others, never so much myself. A trait that has gotten me burned in life quite a few times. It really is true, some people do confuse kindness for weakness. Having a kind heart though does allow you to be tough. Every time you get hurt, you become a little stronger than you were before. I've been called bitter before, but when it's by someone who has screwed you over it's a bit of of a moot point. I would call myself humbly content right now. There is really nothing in life that I would change right now. I actually find joy in helping others. As the Dalai Lama said; "The practice of altruism is the authentic way of living a human life." Although at times I can be a bit of a misanthrope, I do find value in my fellow man.
So my friend K. Hobbs has written a book that needs editing. I myself have taken a crack at writing but I don't have the gift that he has. Just the other night at work he cranked out a page and a half of new material in a matter of what seemed like minutes. I have only written three pages, but in reality what started out as a memoir became an idea for a book that was never finished. I asked for the chance to be his editor. His book is currently at about 70,000+ words. I love challenges, the chance to be an actual copy editor excites me. He asked what my compensation should be and I told him, just give me what ever you think I deserve. Hobbs ain't no dummy though, he pretty much called me out on why I wanted to edit his book. "You would do it for free if I'd let you." I probably would have done it for free. I always had a gift with words, just not creativity. Even more so, I have an extreme willingness to help out my friends. What I've always done, bend over backwards for people, but now a days I'm a bit more selective who I do that for.
The past few days have been more than interesting. This past Tuesday and Wednesday especially. Just thinking about it brings a smile to my face. Karaoke has easily become my favorite past time. The friends I have made are absolutely amazing. The moments I spend with a certain someone however, are just magic. I wish things were a little different, the timing of things are somewhat far from perfect but I can wait. "Good things come to those that wait", I can only pray. As my friend best friend Barnes said to me last night, "Nice guys finish last, but they do make it to the finish line."