Have you ever felt great when you have acted kindly to someone? Of course, you have.
According to the BBC website https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/54921787, acts of kindness are: good for your heart, are contagious, slow ageing, give us energy, make you feel happy, reduce stress and anxiety, support your immune system and reduce pain. Amazing benefits for something that costs nothing and also makes the recipient feel good too.
Some people are naturally kind and think nothing of helping someone out if they see someone struggling or in need of assistance, while others are totally unaware of someone else’s struggles. Maybe these people have never received acts of kindness themselves.
An act of kindness does not have to be a big gesture, nor does it need a fanfare. They are generally done naturally when going about your daily life without thought or consideration and can make a difference, big or small, to those on the receiving end.
A small example is, there is an elderly lady living alone in my building, who has to use a walking stick, one morning I met her in the lift carrying her bag of rubbish to put in the skip on the other side of the road on her way to breakfast. I was going that way so took her bag of rubbish off of her so that she could go and have her breakfast round the corner without having to make a detour. No big gesture, nothing fancy but she was extremely grateful. We are now more than just fellow lift riders and she always has a smile for me, despite being slightly cantankerous to other residents in the building.
According to Wikipedia, kindness is a type of behaviour marked by acts of generosity, consideration, rendering assistance or concern for others, without expecting praise or reward in return.
This is true, as stated on the BBC website, a small act has all the health benefits that you may not expect but they do give you a slight buzz of happiness for at least a few hours.
Not everyone is a kind person and I am frequently amazed by the indifference of many people to others who may be experiencing a little difficulty. An example of this is that there were a lot of cars parked on the pavement and a blind gentleman was having difficulty crossing the road as everywhere his blind person’s cane hit, it met an obstruction. As I was walking towards him numerous people just walked past him and left him to struggle. Why did they do that when it would have taken them just seconds to help him across the road? When I got to him, in my terrible Cantonese, I told him I would help him and took his arm and helped him across the road. He was so grateful and thanked me in English. How long did it take? A blink of an eye and he happily went on his way and I on mine.
To this day I wonder why so many people were so indifferent to his plight.
I always feel that you should treat people as you would like to be treated yourself. Obviously, it does not always work like that but it doesn’t mean that you should stop being kind to people or animals.
In the case of animals, why do people who don’t like them abuse them? They have done nothing to cause the pain and suffering that is inflicted on them. If you don’t like animals, okay, but don’t abuse them as it is cruel and definitely unkind.
Think of these quotes as you go about your day.
“Carry out a random act of kindness, with no expectation of reward, safe in the knowledge that one day someone might do the same for you.” —Princess Diana, the late member of the British royal family.
“Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.” —Desmond Tutu, the late South African Anglican bishop.
“Sometimes it takes only one act of kindness and caring to change a person’s life.” —Jackie Chan (Chan Kong-sang, 成龍), Hong Kong actor.
“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” —Aesop, a Greek fabulist and storyteller.
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