An Act of Kindness Equals A Ripple Effect

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An Act of Kindness = A Ripple Effect

By John Holland

If you’re anything like me, you generally go into autopilot when you go to your local supermarket. But just this past week, I had an interesting experience as I was leaving with my groceries. I noticed an elderly woman having trouble trying to load all her bags into her car. Her produce was spilling out of one bag, while another one was splitting wide open, and she continued to try to grab what she could. You could clearly see she was frustrated and stressed, and needed help. I walked up to her and asked if I could help. She turned round with a look of pure shock!

I wasn’t sure if she was surprised that someone was helping her, or if she thought I was a stranger approaching her for something quite different. Anyway, I helped her pick up her groceries, and chased after cans of peas rolling across the parking lot. No sooner had I helped her, than she quickly got in her car, and drove off! It was as though she’d been really scared having a stranger in her space.

This little incident also reminded me of a time when I was on a train and politely gave up my seat to a young lady who was standing. She also looked at me as if I wanted something from her, when in fact, all I was doing was practicing the way I was raised; to be kind, to be considerate, and to help others. Clearly this young woman was not used to people showing her kindness, or of someone being chivalrous.

Although these stories are separated by both time and location, it just confirms my view that as a society, we seem to have lost the art of helping each other just because we want to or feel it in our hearts. It’s as though the norm is more like we should not be helping each other. I’ve tried to understand why this is happening. Does it have something to do with the impersonal world of instant messaging, texting, and emailing that has contributed to our lack of ability to actually interact with one another? Or is it that we’re so caught up in our own lives that we forget we’re part of the whole, and that we are and always will be connected to each other?

OM Times is a leading voice of the Conscious Community with articles covering the full spectrum of Conscious Living. Click here to see all we share.