What IS The Office of Good Deeds?
I can't recall exactly when the idea for The Office of Good Deeds came to me, but I figure it was maybe late 2005. I was excited at the prospect... so excited I set up a meeting with Austin Mayor Will Wynn to ask if the city would get behind me and, perhaps, give me an office to work from. Will scheduled a meeting but canceled at the last minute. I was busy with a lot of other projects and I think I let that canceled meeting knock the wind out of my sails a bit, so I back-burnered my idea.
Then, several months later, one night in yoga, when I was trying to touch my head to the floor, I heard a voice tell me I had to revisit The Office of Good Deeds idea. I came home and told Herman, the singing Jewish plumber of my dreams, about this voice. Again, I set it aside.
A little more time passed and I started to feel a feeling I've felt before over the past twenty-five years of freelance writing. I felt burnt out. I received yet another sarcastic letter from another editor. Freelance writing is rooted in rejection, which dovetailed nicely with who I was for a very long time. Rejection was my middle name. But, at forty-two, I began leaning toward a big change, wanting to escape from rejection, wanting to stop the hack writing sometimes required of me. Which is to say, I guess I had a midlife crisis. If I were some average Joe, I guess I could've bought a red sports car and got on with my life. Instead, I asked the universe how I could be of use to others... how I could be the most helpful, because this is really what I most want to do.
I thought maybe the answer was some sort of energy healing work. Many years ago, a powerful intuitive told me I have the power to heal people with my hands. Only this past fall did I finally explore this gift in an amazing workshop. After the workshop, I again asked the universe what, specifically, I should be doing. Again, I heard a voice tell me to make The Office of Good Deeds real. I wrote this down in my journal.
The very next night, I was having friends over for dinner. I meant to call my friend Jill and invite her, but I forgot. She showed up anyway. When I told her I needed a new path, she looked at me with her special Jill-look and said, "You need to do The Office of Good Deeds."
This was the day after Charles Roberts shot ten little Amish girls in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania, very close to where my friend Chris lives. I'd written Chris a condolence note about this event. Chris's response moved me deeply. Between Chris's note and Jill's advice, I sent out a letter to a couple of hundred people about The Office of Good Deeds. I expected I might get a few responses. Instead I was, as I like to say, POSITIVELY overwhelmed with email from all over the country, people writing and asking how they can help. The answer to that is pretty easy... there are a number of things you can do to be part of The Office of Good Deeds:
- Do a good deed
- Tell us if you see a good deed
- Be part of the Drop-A-Grudge campaign
- Become an ambassador
- Show your support by buying a little something from our gift shop
For more information, contact spike@spikeg.com.