“One small ripple of kindness leads to another.”
Man is a social animal; classified by different languages, beliefs, culture; but what binds him together with others of his genre is the simple act of kindness; a language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see as quoted by Mark Twain.
“Three things in human life are important. The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind. And the third is to be kind.”
— Henry James
Not just humans; every living creature too understands this language, it doesn’t know any boundaries or it is even beyond any discrimination.
The act of kindness generates with one’s compassionate thoughts, towards himself and towards everyone else.
Amelia Earhart has once said – “A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions and the roots spring up and make new trees”
“Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for a kindness.”
— Lucius Annaeus Seneca
“Me, Myself and I” the Present Scenario
According to Kristi Nelson (executive director of a network of Grateful Living), “We live in a kind of fundamental scarcity” – The scarcity which runs the lives of modern man.
And this rush is the root cause of making things worse. It forces a person develop an unhealthy tendency of self focus. A person is so driven towards “It’s me, myself and I” all the time.
With this modern mindset, the very idea of being kind is losing its even existence. Everyone is busy playing the game where selfishness makes more sense than cooperation.
Thinking about others, their needs, caring for them, empathy – all these seems to be a luxury in present scenario, which I consider is the root cause of these nuclear families, or an anti-social mechanized world.
This is eventually increasing the anxiety level, negativity, rigidity in the modern man and is even degrading the level of mental and physical well being.
Kindness is Contagious
Science has proven that a person is more likely to perform a thoughtful deed when someone else does for us. It is a ripple effect. For instance if someone smiles at us in the metro, almost always we return back the gesture. And the next time we see someone we end up smiling at them. That’s the amount of ripple effect it has. Kindness breeds more kindness.
Henceforth, this ripple grows in ample making, which lets a person grow close to others. It is a small act which binds everyone together. And bring us back to our people, our roots, whom we have distanced because of our modern rush. It eventually strengthens the links of the golden chain by which our society is bound together.
Albert Schweitzer has said – “Constant kindness can accomplish much. As the sun makes ice melt, kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust, and hostility to evaporate.”
Thus, decreases the anxiety level, negativity, rigidity of the modern man. And making him more compassionate, which is a healthy sign of a prosperous dwelling of any society.
Written By: Somdutta Das
*****
Related Articles:
