Photo by David Fitzpatrick
The other day I was rushing to get to an appointment I was nervous about. In my hurry I dropped a glass bottle of soft drink and it smashed to smithereens on the footpath. I put down my bag and started to try to pick up the many pieces of shattered glass when the local butcher and his apprentice came out of their shop with broom and dustpan and offered to clean it up for me. It was a random act of kindness which made a difficult day a little better.
It got me thinking about how important kindness is in the world.
Taking a moment to smile, say something nice, offer a helping hand just helps to make life a little better.
In the online world we often see the best of people, generous donations given, support offered to those who are struggling, but sadly we also see the darker side of people as well.
Hate reading and trolling continues to astound me, I seriously don’t get why you would waste your time on such meanness.
We warn our children about cyber-bullying yet every day you can see evidence of adults engaging in that very behaviour. I often wonder if they have kids, and what sort of example they set to those children. Do they tell them it’s OK to say whatever you think, no matter how much it may hurt another? That your opinion is the only one that counts.
Of course rudeness isn’t limited to the online world, real life throws up its own special versions of arrogance, spite and nastiness.
When everyone operates from their perspective, fully believing they are the only people who count, that they are more talented, more worthy we lose a little something. I’m not sure “looking out for number one” is a sustainable model for a world. Teamwork, kindness, putting others before yourself, those are the things that bind a human society.
Courtesy, manners, etiquette seem a little quaint in the modern world. But without them doesn’t it all start to fall apart?
Have you ever been the recipient of a random act of kindness?
I’m going to try to take part in the A to Z Challenge Blog Hop this month. That means each day a post related to a letter of the alphabet. Please note if you are participating in the Blog Hop and you leave a like or a comment I will visit your blog, but I can’t comment on Blogger blogs unless there is the name/url option, I don’t know why, but I promise I’m reading.
right on the button
Thank you.
I have nominated you for the Leibster Award-just not finished post
I love to hear/read/see evidence that common decency is still out there. It lightens my heart and makes me optimistic for the future that my children will own.
Unfortunately, the anonymity of the internet brings out the worst in some people. I guess the only thing we can do is try our best to fill ourselves up with beautiful words, like the ones I read here everyday.
Thank you Shelly.
That’s a great K post! I’d love to live in a town small enough to have a local butcher.
Yes. It feels good to receive, but I do my best everyday to do one act of kindness to another in hopes that it will brighten their day.
You are a genuinely kind person Anissa.
courtesy and manners seem quaint, but aren’t. let’s keep teaching those behaviors to our students and children. that butcher and helper are wonderful – i hope they are not rare. joy to you, janine!
I don’t have a car in the city, but there are some places that are just plain difficult to get to by public transportation and just plain expensive to get to by taxi, and every so often there are some super kind people at parties that I’ve never met before that offer me a ride home (of course they know the host/hostess so I feel better about it) – but I always think those people are the nicest people in the world. When I have a car someday I hope to do the same for somebody else.
Random kindness makes the world go around.