Taking the Bullet

There is often a great volume of pain behind kindness.

Of all the ways to respond to tragedy, the best is this: Remove it from the world. If I take a bullet for someone, I’m not then trying to dig that bullet out of me, load it into a gun, and fire it into the next person. Should I ever find myself in that situation, my goal is to stop the bullet.

We have the choice to do that every day. When the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune strike you, be glad of this: Those slings and arrows were going to strike someone, and they struck someone with the fortitude to survive it and the strength to end their path right then and there. The world is kinder because you turned to the next person not with a loaded weapon, but with a kind smile.