“This is my simple
religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our
own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness.”
--The Dalai Lama,
Tibetan Buddhist Leader
True story. Last weekend my Aunt found herself in need of a
little human kindness. She'd driven into
Boston to visit my Mom, her sister, who'd had surgery, but in Carol's rush into
the city and then into the parking garage and then out of her car and then up
to the room, somehow she'd lost her keys. She searched the room, the hallway, the
elevator, the shuttle bus that had taken her to the hospital. No luck.
"Can I help you?" a man in green scrubs asked, as
she looked through the elevator again. On
the edge of tears, she explained her dilemma. Downtown. Alone. Stranded. This
person could have easily walked on by, gotten to where ever he was on his way
to. Seen someone in distress but kept going.
But instead he said, "Let's look again." Then he walked with
her down the stairs and into the cold dark garage, searching right along with
her and then finally back to her car, where they discovered those keys, right
there in the ignition where they'd been the whole time.
"Thank you!" she said, so grateful for his help. Seeing
his attire Carol asked if he worked at the hospital. "I'm a surgeon,"
he answered. He was on his way home after a long day of operations from dawn
'til dusk. And then they parted: two human beings, connected by circumstance
and now bound forever by one simple act of human kindness. One soul assisting
another soul in need. One stranger
daring to ask another stranger: "Can I help?"
If we were able to have a bird's eye view of the hospital on
that chilly Friday night, we'd no doubt have witnessed a hundred, maybe even a
thousand such acts of simple human kindness. A taxi driver helping a limping
man outside the emergency room. A gentle
nurse taking the blood pressure of a scared little boy, soothing his fears with
quiet words of reassurance. A flower
delivery person evoking a mile wide smile in a cancer patient. The security guard who gave a car battery
jump to help a couple from Oklahoma,
in town to visit their daughter who was in a terrible car accident.
Each in their own way making this world a little kinder, a
little softer, a little better, and a little more loving. Each anonymous. Each making a conscious choice to be the
light in a world we too often might imagine is only shadow filled. Each having
that rare gift of empathy, the ability to put ourselves in another person's
shoes and then in that imagining, responding with compassion.
It's tempting these days to see this world through the lens
of cynicism, even despair, when it comes to the hope for simple human kindness.
Our President regularly insults, demeans, bullies and verbally bludgeons anyone
whom he perceives as an opponent and the crowd cheers for more. Our nation has been rocked by acts of cruelty
and violence perpetrated by sick souls who worship at the altar of hate. Our press doesn't help: it almost gleefully
reports upon such meanness of spirit and actions, 24/7, always looking for the
next thing to shock us with and to drive up ratings.
But here's one truth I am absolutely sure of: there is much
more kindness than cruelty in this world. There are many, many more folks
willing to stop and to help than to walk on by in apathy. Most folks are, at
their core, decent people, who try their best each day to be good neighbors and
good citizens and good people. We need to
remember this, to have faith and then dare to believe that in the long arc of
human history, kindness always wins. Always.
That deep truth will not sell many newspapers. It will not
appeal to the preachers who want to condemn this world in fear and anger or the
politicians who exploit human cruelty for their own personal power. Kindness
might be written off as weakness by the strong or as corny by the annoyingly
ironic. Don't listen to those voices. Don't give in. Don't give up.
Instead look for human kindness. Ask for kindness from
others. Teach kindness in your religion and to your family and community, then live
it, and take it out into your daily life. Kindness will always make your one
life "great" in the truest sense. Kindness is a gift from God and a
loving universe but it only works when we put it to work.
Someone this day needs your kindness. You can do it. Be
kind.
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