You know something is quite wrong with the human psyche when you offer your seat to a much older lady in the bus and everyone including the poor old woman looks at you with a very puzzled and shocked expression. Is it such a surprising act? Maybe it just doesn't happen as often as it should. I would like to think that if any of my female family members (the older generation) travelled by bus, that a slightly younger woman would give them space to sit if they were having trouble balancing in the isle while the bus driver tried his usual stunts of weaving his way through traffic to reach the next destination just those few minutes faster.
Somehow the art of conversation with random strangers seems to have dried up in most parts of our society. Everybody is constantly on guard and any sort of help rendered by you is initially looked upon with a great deal of suspicion. What ever happened to the random acts of kindness? I don't particularly blame people for their suspicions but it's just quite frustrating when you are genuinely trying to help someone and they look in the opposite direction.
But every once in a while, something happens which just seems to reaffirm my faith in the human race. I was with a friend in a market last Sunday and we were trying to figure out how to get to a nearby market and just how far away it was. Some people just continued walking, others feigned ignorance, some just genuinely seemed to have no clue. Just when we were losing hope, a lady saw us and actually came up to us and asked us if we needed help. She gave us directions, told us how much it should cost to go by auto and advised us against walking because it wasn't that close by!
There's just something about experiences like that which make you feel like the world may not be such a bad place after all. I guess it goes to show that if you are at receiving end of those 'random acts of kindness', the chances of you be tempted to indulge in them yourself may be just a wee bit higher. So go out today and help a random stranger. At the end of it, give them your best smile and the smile you'll get in return will not only make your day but also that of the other person.
:D
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3 comments:
Kindness cannot be a give and take gesture. That would be selfishly kind. I guess it is time from being ruled by the British to turning into British phase. So much for my bullshit comment it was a cool post.:)
@ rohit- I didn't mean to imply that kindness was a give-and-take gesture :P I was trying to say that it's an amazing feeling when you are able to bring a smile to a distressed face. That genuine smile you get in return can make you feel like the richest person in the world for just that fleeting moment. Am slightly confused about your comment though :) Where do the British come into the picture?
I suppose the British come into it, because they introduced the concept of chivalry in the modern world. You have to remember that the Americans were 'brash' fellows, with no manners according to the British. And the East was never considered.
Nice post!:)
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