Years ago I was very close to the edge financially. I moved in with friends and was taken care of, on a material level but despite that each day I had a lot of fear that if things didn’t change I would end up homeless. I applied for jobs everywhere and reached out and networked and I asked people who had work I wanted. I took social media courses and affirmation courses and still nothing seemed to move ahead for me. I got so sick of myself thinking about $$ worries even I couldn’t stand my own complaining. So I used my active imagination for good. I started to just act as if things were going to change for the better. I drove from Napanee to Toronto one day for yet another interview that didn’t pan out and I decided to put my comedy books in mailboxes of people I didn’t know. ( there was a box of books in my trunk that weren’t selling either. ) Soon, I started to feel better thinking of how they would come to the mailbox and wonder how the books got there.

The next week I started working at Morningstar Mission one day a week, chopping potatoes. Soon after I began collecting money for socks for the homeless. And soon many people I had never met started to donate to that cause. Still nothing turned around for awhile but I did notice that each day I began to feel better.  That sickening financial fear I had had all of my life began to lift. ( and it hasn’t returned to anything near that degree since.) I noticed I was okay if I stayed in the day. That in this day I had ‘just enough” to live no more and no less.

Years later when life was flush again, I was talking to a woman I didn’t know, after my show and she told me she was the recipient of one of my mailbox book drops. The book that I had written was called That Which Doesn’t Kill You, Makes You Funnier a book of comedic essays, I’d written over the years. She said, her partner of 50 years had died and she wanted to die too. All week she’d been planning to take pills to join him. So when she went to the mailbox and saw the title of my book at first made her furious. Planning to throw it out she sat down and began reading. She said she found she was laughing out loud. She told me ( through tears) that when she heard her own voice laugh it almost shocked her that the sound was coming from her.

After she hugged me and walked off I thought to myself, we have no idea what or how we will affect people in our lives. Maybe managing how we impact people is not our business. I was dropping off those books for no other reason than to save myself, but somehow that action helped her. I didn’t know that. Our actions create ripples and we need to decide what kind of ripples we want to create. We never know when we share our gifts what will happen. I don’t believe we can control much in life, but I believe we can control that.

So folks, I  am heading to NYC this Friday to do my show. I hope you will send good vibes as its something I am very excited ( and not going to lie, a little nervous about) If you know anyone that needs a laugh I’d appreciate you telling them about this.  Tickets are here!

Mid November the sock fund starts. I will keep you posted.

I have one writing class December 4th only!

Then we have a big late winter and spring tour planned. Please check out tickets