Criminal Minds & Inspiration

After a hard and emotionally taxing day at work (read as almost everyday) one of my favourite unwinding methods is - television watching.

Today was a particularly hard day, one extended by needing to meet my daughter after work and get some business that we have delayed out of the way. So my watching of Oprah was curtailed to a few minutes while the van heated up.

On my way through the door, however, I resolved that this was an evening that I was going to flake out in front of the television, never mind having to write a post for Comforting Words!

I know that the jury is still out on the benefits of television watching and in fact some have returned with a 'guilty' verdict, i.e., that too much television is damaging to the intellect. My personal experience though has been mixed as television has taught me many things that serve as inspiration and even affirmation for my life's work.

There are of course the more obvious programmes that fits snuggly in that category of "affirmative and empowering" television, namely shows such as Oprah's and features and documentaries on channels like National Geographic and Discovery.

A long-ago friend of mine loved to say "pick the sense out of nonsense," however that was not my intention as I sat to watch this evening's episode of Criminal Minds. Although, I would not consider myself hooked to this series, it is one that most Wednesdays Juds and I tend to view.

Who would have guessed though that a show about FBI profilers, using their knowledge of psychology and criminology to 'suss' out murderers, rapists, paedophiles and every other brand of criminals you could imagine, would have Juds in tears and me writing a post about its motivational value!

This week's episode was not only a tear-jerker, witnessing to the power of love, particularly that of a mother who would rather go to the electric chair as an accomplice to a serial rapist and murderer to protect her child. This otherwise run-of-the-mill albeit well-acted detective series, was also a lesson in selfless service to others.

Gideon, one of the leading FBI profilers, ended this week's episode with a quote from author Albert Pine that literally moved me from my couch-potato like pose to the computer to write this post:

"What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world remains and is immortal."

This is what I am talking about, people, when I invite you to join with me and the Comforting Words Community and put real meaning to the day as we affirm one woman this International Women's Day.

"What we do for others...is immortal," no matter how simple it might seem. Who would have thought that a simple and mindless (potentially mind-numbing) act like watching television would hold such a lesson? Some of you might be thinking that your $20.00 gift or sending this box of Affirmation to a woman somewhere in the world will not make a difference.

I, however, beg to differ and urge you to take a couple hours to purchase a gift, write your nomination, email your 'article' to me and snail mail the gift for inclusion in the package. For more details, visit Comfort Foundation & Ministries and join our free and private mailing list.

Let us as a community, small as we may be, remind a woman in March that her presence on this Earth plane is a blessing. Let us step into our immortality by stepping out of ourselves!

And, watch some television - you might be surprised what gem you might come across!

Blessings,

Claudette

Photograph from Criminal Minds courtesy of Yahoo Images.