I was in rush and was taking a rickshaw. He took a wrong turn, and I was about to raise my voice as I was already late. Something stopped me and I said, it’s ok, you can take your time. When I was giving him money for his services, he looked at that and felt like he would come into tears. I asked him if he was ok. HE started crying and shared that his two years old son was sick and now, he would be able to buy some medicine. I tried giving him some more money but he refused. He apologized for taking the wrong turn and I said it’s ok. When I reached for the meeting, the gentleman was just arriving, and I was practically not late. I felt that sometimes, just holding back on anger or stress and being polite can make a difference.
I was crossing a street and saw a beggar lady. She had a very fowl language. But then I saw that she was shivering. I asked her if she had something warm in winters. She looked at me with a face where the anger starts calming down, she said no. I had some blankets in the car for distribution and I got her one. She did not take it. She gave it to the puppies next to her and she said that their mother died in an accident and she was taking care of them. I gave her one more and she had tears in her eyes. The lady who looked so feisty and rusty at that time suddenly looked so weak. She shared that her son kicked her out and since then, this is the first time someone has actually given her something. I asked her, if that’s why she was angry all the time and she smiled and said, the world is not so bad.
I wondered if I had given her some hope.
Be kind. Be kind in words, be kind in your deeds. Be genuine. People know it and they can feel it. Everyone has enough on plate. Every one is dealing with one or other problem. You never know, your one kind gesture, one action can help someone. maybe it can lift someone’s spirit. maybe it can save someone’s day.
