It's been a while since I participated in the ecoTrain Question Of The Week (QOTW) and this week's question is an interesting one which calls for "the most amazing act of kindness someone has ever done for you".
The author of the QOTW further wrote thus,
... I invite you all to join us and share a personal story about an occasion that someone did something amazing for you!
I am reminded of an incident that happened recently which I will share with you.
Regardless of the dictionary definition of kindness, I believe this virtue which we desire and long for (because it has become a scarcity in our present world) is much more. Kindness is all about being nice, caring, generous and loving towards another person. In fact, kindness is regarded as the greatest virtue of all.
One of our greatest needs is real, unconditional love of which kindness is a major part of it. When you love someone, you will be kind to them. It's a given. Kindness is a virtue that comes naturally and from within us. It cannot be learned, you are either nice and caring or you are not. As we grow, experience and our environment either fuels kindness in us or stifles it.
Nowadays, there are so many unkind people around and they act so because life has dealt them cruel blows. So they pay it forward with the mindset that being good is weakness and gets them nothing. Even when they are nice, it's always a quid pro quo. They do favours in exchange for help from another person.
Despite the cruelty in our world, there are still people bent on spreading good around, being supportive and kind to others. When we come across them, we feel like we had an encounter with an angel. I remember one of Morgan Freeman quotes which says,
How do we change the world? One random act of kindness at a time.
This unexpected, random act happened to me some weeks ago when I went shopping. Our food store at home needed replenishing and I may not have the time to shop again within the week due to my work schedule so I bought a lot of things at the market that day.
After shopping, I held onto three heavy bags somehow but I could not get a direct bus home. So I took a bus, stopped halfway, took another that brought me close to my house. I had to cross a dual carriageway to the other side and take a tricycle.
I struggled to hold the three bags and my back was aching. I comforted myself that I was almost home. Then a young lady walked up to me and offered to help carry my bags so we could cross together.
To say I was surprised is putting it mildly. I could not believe my ears so I pretended I did not hear her. This lady repeated her question again. I laughed and thanked her graciously. She took the heaviest bag from me and we crossed together. She made sure I was seated comfortably in the tricycle before she handed my bag to me. Then she walked away.
I still find it hard to believe that a lady or anyone would walk up to me and help me with my bags. You would think it was a gentlemanly thing to do and there were young men around that day who wanted to cross the dual carriageway at that moment. None of them offered to help. Just this lady.
That was a random act of kindness that touched me deeply and assured me that there are still kind-hearted people in this world. I did not waste time to pay this kindness forward.
Rather than see the world through grey-coloured glasses, let's put on the rose-coloured glasses. Remember, kindness starts with you and me.
Thank you for visiting my blog.