We are currently living in a troubling and turbulent world, with war, violence, and natural disasters inflicting pain and causing turmoil and suffering all over the globe. A pessimistic person could justifiably believe that humanity has forgotten how to be kind to one another. After all, not only do we humans treat each other terribly, but even Mother Nature seems peeved with us right now.
Well, dear reader, take heart. The Old Optimist is here to tell you that all is not lost. As long as there’s one person around who is capable of smiling at a stranger or lending a helping hand without thought of payment, there is hope. We two-legged, weak-eyed critters who are incapable of surviving on a large percentage of this place we call home are not really as bad as we’ve sometimes been led to believe.
While we are, as a species, capable of unimaginable cruelty towards each other and other species, there are, among us, those who are also capable of unbelievable kindness and charity towards all.
The truth is, though, that we all are capable of goodness. It’s just a matter of will. I strongly believe that the majority of humanity is like that, and that there is just a tiny minority that is, as my grandmother used to say, “bad to the bone.” Sure, we’re all completely selfish and self-centered as infants, but that’s because we are the only animal that is born helpless and remains that way for a long time. We absolutely need others just to survive.
But look at that baby in its mother’s arms. Moments before, it was red-faced and bawling, but as soon as it feels its mother’s warmth and heartbeat, and is fed and changed into clean, dry nappies, it has the most angelic smile on its face. I don’t know about you, but I believe that’s a sign that, even at that tender age, when the brain is still growing, it can recognize kindness and respond in the only way it can in its immature state.
Having said all that, I’d like to propose what some might think is a radical idea. Let’s all set ourselves a goal of doing five (an arbitrary number) of purely random acts of kindness every single day. They don’t have to be anything elaborate or time-consuming, just little actions that show people that you care about them. Do you have elderly neighbors, or people with physical limitations or disabilities?
Consider, as a young neighbor of mine did when I broke my femur and couldn’t get around for six months, who came over and shoveled the snow from my driveway. That single act affected me so profoundly that I still remember it vividly thirteen years later.
Acts of kindness like this can elicit reciprocation, too. When my neighbor’s son fell ill with a mysterious malady four years after my accident, I was one of the first in the neighborhood to welcome him home from the hospital after he recovered, and hoisted him on my shoulder so that he could remove the yellow ribbon his father had tied around the big tree in their yard. A simple gesture, but it bound our two families together.
Have you ever found yourself behind someone in a checkout line who discovered they were a dollar short on their purchase and that their credit card was maxed out? Want to commit a random act of kindness. Offer that stranger a dollar. That’s not a lot of money, but it buys a lot of gratitude.
Let’s do it, folks. Let’s all make a vow to perform random acts of kindness as we go through our days, and watch how bright those days become. | NWI
