I listened intently with wet eyes as my father narrated his profound experience of life. He paused at appropriate intervals for me to absorb and ruminate over each detail while he spoke, “Years ago, a minor worker at my factory approached me, his eyes divested of sleep and in severe pain. He was enormously upset since his one-year old daughter kept crying all day as she had not shut her right eye since two days which was all crimson and extremely puffy. He was deeply disturbed, yet he was penniless to even consult a proper doctor. Even several visits to welfare hospitals had turned out futile and fruitless. I asked him to bring over his little girl and took her to an optician. She was duly treated on that very same day. It turned out that a glass splinter had been stuck beneath her lower eye-lid, the reason for the excruciating pain. Her father, teary-eyed and grateful, kept thanking me endlessly and still does and you know what, my child, the satisfaction and content that God gave me the chance to help someone in utter need is above all other feelings of exultance and far too distant, yet greater in magnitude than all other petty luxuries of life”.
Simple kindness, simply given, without any expectation of recognition or reward, is what prompted my father to help. It is truly in helping others that we help ourselves. It’s all about making a difference in someone’s life. An act of kindness, however how small, unfailingly renders a warm feeling of satisfaction, leaving everlasting imprints, both on the hearts of the giver and receiver. Kindness begets softness of character and humility, be it towards animals or humans. It is in giving that lies the greatest gift.
The world has sadly become a residence of the pretentious and selfish; luxuries seem to have irrevocably replaced human feelings and character. However there still are million compassionate people left to learn from, who sincerely have that iridescent spark for love within them, for whom care for others outweighs care for themselves. There is one such caring old fellow in my neighborhood. He is mentally challenged; yet far above in character than the self-centered smart alecs. Though life has offered him a little too scarcely, he continues to spread his boundless care and love, each moment that he lives. He is a caring friend to all old and young alike and a caring father to all the street kitties (it’s too fuzzy and warm a sight to watch the cats purr around him lovingly when he feeds them juicy morsels of meat!!). Every living being is responsive to care and love.
Acts of loving kindness naturally inundate you with a beautiful feeling of ease and peace. According to a study conducted, “Acts of kindness release the emotional equivalents of endorphins, the feel-good chemicals that flood your senses after exercise”. I still feel warm when I fondly recall that one perfect day of my life, when I being an extreme chip-o-holic six-year old, gave away happily, that just bought tangerine packet of salty savories to a petite young girl in rags, perched on the foot-path. Her hazel eyes glistened in merriment, conveying mellifluently, a million unsaid thankyous.
So you see, it’s not all about making elephantine changes and accomplishing big, even one tiny step at a time, a simple gesture of love, be it a warm smile or offering a glass of juice to your exhausted maid is enough to make a difference and reach out across other people’s hearts. Give without remembering. Make it a point to show concern for everyone around you, especially those at the lower rung of the economic ladder like domestic help or the junior staff at your workplace. Ask about their well-being and help them morally and economically. Lend your umbrellas to those afflicted by rainy days, be compassionate to the poor and miserable, try not to hurt your loved ones by being careful about your choice of words and praise others. Practice random acts of kindness and then see how each sweet and simple gesture of yours will encourage you to win more hearts as you move along in life. Let no one ever come to you without feeling better and happier as Ruth Smeltzer puts it most aptly, “You have not lived a perfect day, even though you have earned your money, unless you have done something for someone who will never be able to repay you”.
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