I’m 20 years older, much more attractive (at least in my own mind) and have never done anything quite so awful as the Jennifer Mally in Paradise Valley, Arizona. They say that any publicity is good publicity, though I’m not quite so sure. My life’s work is about creating happy and whimsical art — and in a small way trying to promote a little goodness in the world with my greeting card line Have A Heart Creations. And then someone with my name comes along and does something no adult, woman or man, should ever do. It makes me sad.
I’ve gotten all sorts or traffic at my website, and under any other circumstances, that would be quite exciting. Except that all these people Googling “Jennifer Mally” and finding my website aren’t looking for me — they’re looking for dirt. How ironic, to spend a decade working at trying to get publicity for your company and website, along with your efforts at promoting positive and good and happy human connections (not to mention, sell a card or two) – with slow, slow progress — and then another Jennifer Mally does something bad and it takes off like wild fire.
What kind of twisted sort of people are we? We seek out the distasteful and sad stories about people who are hurt, adults who are damaged, children who are taken advantage of, and worse. Is that news? Is that entertainment? What does that say about us?
I guess what this Jennifer Mally, in Des Moines, Iowa, does is really pretty boring. But someone’s got to do it, because we need exposure to the “good stuff” in the world too. Even if it means I only make one person feel better for one short moment, then I’ve done something to help make this a more positive world to live in. What have you done lately?
The back of every card I make says it all…
“What I make and sell and give are moments. Moments that conveniently and snuggly fit inside an envelope. These aren’t moments of any earth-shaking proportions. They are quiet and simple. You may smile. You may sigh. You may not. But in these moments, something, I think, quite profound happens — our lives touch. And if you choose to share that moment with someone else, then another life comes into the fold. I put every good thing I know into every card I make so that every person, every life, that I touch feels better — if only for just a moment.”
I challenge you to do something good with this moment — to extend a hand and help someone else, to find a way to make something right out of a wrong, to give a reason for someone to smile, to make this world a better place — one moment, one person at a time.
You may not make the 6:00 news, but you may just make a positive difference in someone’s life for one single, solitary moment. And that’s enough…for now.