Random Act of Kindness! Navin gets to hear a lot of 'pravachan' (talk?) from me on this particular phrase. If I am too lazy to get up and get the remote or get a glass of water, I tell him how we should imbibe kindness in our day to day life. He prefers to get me a glass of water than to listen to my non-sense. That's how I get my work done :)
I was in the mall the other day and was ready to checkout at a store. A lady had just finished her billing and was ready to leave. She came right up to me and said, 'Hey, I have a printout for 20% coupon, you can use it!'. Well, eh, sure! Sweet! Such treats are welcome anytime. So that day I ended by saving additional 20%; all credit to a stranger's act of kindness.
I was at Dominick's super market yesterday. The lady at the counter asked me if I had a Dominick's card? I looked for it in my purse. Nope. I looked again. At one time I used to have 3 cards in my purse but that day I just could not find it. You never get what you want when you want it bad! So what did the lady do? She simply asked the next person in line for her card and whoosh! swiped it for my purchase. I thought it was pretty indecent of her to take the card like that and even before the person could acknowledge or give permission, use it to save me some bucks! But the person in line was very sweet. She smiled back and said 'I too forget my card many times and ask someone else for one.'
The money I saved may have been just a few dollars and not too significant. But the kindness sure made a significant impression on me and left me with immense feeling of happiness that kindness still prevails. Its true, you may not remember how a person looked or what they said to you but you will always remember how they made you feel.
2 comments:
wow. the lady indeed is really sweet.
you know shreya, i have an interesting anecdote to share with you. I was in the bombay local train a few days back. like always, i was in the gents (general) first class... which was next to the ladies first class. a young girl walked into my compartment and sat next to me... she was drowned in her own thoughts... there were some men letching at her as she was the lone woman in the compartment... she seemed disillusioned and lost in her own thoughts. i watched her for 3-4 stations, she was immobile and tears were held up on her eyes. allof a sudden I dont know what occoured to me... i asked her... "madam, you look upset. I dont want to know what happened. But can i give you a hug. Please". She instantly threw her arms open and hugged me... and the tears that were held up started flowing... she then realised that she had missed her station, she took my number and got down the train. we havent spoken. we havent met. but we are friends and we are connected.
i am gay, but she didnt know that. my request for a hug couldve been misunderstood as "acting smart"... but it didnt...
when the intent is good content of communication and contentment follows...
Very thoughtful of you to make her feel light. I am sure the lady must have felt better after chatting to you.
And about feeling connected... I read an interesting book last mont called 'Five people you meet in heaven'. Its a story of a man who dies in an accident and goes to heaven. The first of the person he meets is someone he could never even recognize and wonders why he meets him. It is beautifully written and made me wonder for a moment.
At a spiritual level, we all are connected some way or the other. And the connection is way beyond friendship and biological relationship.
I wanted to share how I felt when I read the book, but never made time. Your comment has motivated me to write one soon. Thanks!
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