I know it’s been a while since I blogged about celebrities and their drama, with all of my wedding drama! But now that I’m getting all of my ducks in a row again, it’s time to tackle one of my favorite subjects.

As many of you may know, Britney Spears had a hand in the opening of the MTV awards this past Sunday.  She said about 3 sentences (maybe for the best that it was so short), and sat back and received three of their awards. Pretty impressive, even if they are sort of rigged.

But any way you shake it, how night and day is this woman from what we saw a year ago? Last year, she was raving, shaving her head, throwing things at paparazzi, missing court appearances, being carted out to hospitals, and filing restraining orders against people. This year, the paparazzi headlines have been more filled with Lindsey Lohan’s frolicking around with her maybe/maybenot girlfriend.

I’m impressed with her turnaround. My honest thought last year was that it wouldn’t be long and Britney’s spiral would be so downward that she’d end up in an asylum or dead. But she proved me, and I think many people, wrong.  She started taking care of herself again, and it’s made a world of difference.

I think you can take this idea further though. Britney wasn’t good to her body, and it showed. But a change in lifestyle did her a world of good.  Especially in these post-flood times, people need to take care of themselves. Talking with Psychologist Dick Socwell after the floods hit, he said a number of people in distress turn to substances to help them get through it all. He also said it’d be a few months before we’d start seeing people really hurting. Having spoken with a number of flood victims, I think we’re there.

I visited Waypoint last night as part of a “Tribute to Women” event, and heard about how many people they’re getting into their reception area asking for help. People who were already down and out, and now even more in trouble. Money is an issue. Food is an issue. Where to sleep, who will care for children, finding a job, staying away from domestic violence… It goes on and on.  So we need to do our part in the process of helping out as many as we can, so if they too are spiraling in the wrong direction, it can be reversed. Britney obviously had people step in and push her up through her tough times. 

While I realize that Britney’s situation and that facing flood victims is drastically different, the principle there is the same. When someone’s down and almost out, give them a hand. It might just be what truly saves their life.