Random acts of Kindness

8th July 2021 Dr. Beena

Now, why would I want to talk about kindness?  Well, there was a mundane incident that happened today at the market. I went to the market and headed towards my regular fish guy who speaks English. However, he was not there. Hence, I was unsure if I should buy from the next stall. That was when that fish guy asked me what I wanted to buy. I pointed to the fish I wanted and asked him about few other fishes too. He answered all my queries in Malay (local language). After he took out the fish I wanted, he called out to someone. Then my fish guy came over. The other guy handed him the fish and returned to his stall. Then I looked at the fishes in his stall. He had the same type of fish. That surprised me. Why would he want to help his colleague when he could have easily directed me to his stall?

 On my way home, I pondered on this random act of kindness. By his action, he made me happy. He made his colleague happy, and himself too. Have you noticed that when we are kind to others, we feel joyful? The degree of happiness escalates based on the merit of that kindness.

 Here I must narrate something my sister did. During the strict lockdown, her neighbour’s father passed on. The daughter asked my sister if she could help to get the paraphernalia for the funeral. None of her relatives were keen to execute her wishes. My sister took that risk. As she has never arranged for a funeral before, she made few calls and found one guy willing to open his shop for her to get the materials. When she narrated this incident to me, I was elated that she did this good deed for someone in distress.

 Now, let me go to my painting. I painted this in acrylic at the start of the pandemic in 2020, where my skills were limited. I copied this from Peter Sheeler’s work but added my quirks like my gals, Zara and Mika. The actual painting was done in watercolour with line and wash. It is a form of art where one will use pens to draw some aspect of the art.

 I always wondered about living in proximity where you can see, hear, and maybe know all that goes on with your neighbours. We need patience, tolerance, and kindness to live in such proximity. For survival, we need to be kind. Random acts of kindness provide immeasurable joy. Try it, and you will know what I mean. It is not the same as donating money or your planned time for volunteer work. It is unplanned as the fish man at the market today or my sister, helping her neighbour. Or like my friends who will buy breakfast for me on Saturdays as a surprise:). I find spontaneous acts of kindness bring utmost satisfaction to our lives.

 Till the next musing hope, you enjoyed reading today’s musing on kindness. It is easier to be kind than to be unkind. Please share your story or musings at this site:).

10 thoughts on “Random acts of Kindness

  1. You are blessed to receive kindness and witness kindness..what a wonderful day it must have been for the person who did it..for the one who received it and you as the witness..what more can one ask for..I can almost see myself smiling at the thought of the situation..so much pure joy. Am sure your sister and your neighbor all had the same joy in doing what they did.

    Your art..even though you say it is a beginners piece of work.. definitely conveys the feeling of living in constricted spaces.. yet with the positive feeling of the possibility of a strong community…something we need so desperately much more than all the material acquisitions.

    1. Hi Suchi

      Thank you for sharing your thoughts. If each one of us can do simple tasks like even a smile to brighten another we can all be part of that community to instil kindness. It is do easy to perform kindness as it costs nothing.

      Am sure you have a story on that too. I hope you can share your story.

      Hope to read that soon.

      Take care
      Beena

  2. The joy of giving is sometimes greater than the joy of receiving. With food banks all over the country set up nowadays to help the desperate, I can only imagine how wonderful both parties feel. Your painting brings reality into life where it shows space restrictions in back lanes. Something that many are used to and we don’t hear complaints about. I like the little details in it. Well done.

    1. Hi Vasanthi

      It takes a lot out of a person to live in confined spaces. Hence the reason to be kind. Its for survival too.
      That painting was really tough as it had a lot to do with perspective and that balcony. That was tough🤣🤣🤣

  3. Talking about kindness, Dr you’re lucky to meet such a kind and helpful fishmonger.
    I’m not that lucky.
    I bought a pc of cut fish which weight 350 gm but that unkind fish guy charged me for the price of 500 gm. What a pity.
    Perhaps kindness to people will make you happy, peace of mind and you’ll smile in your sleep.
    Cheers.

    1. Hi Chiam

      Sorry to hear about your disappointment with the Fishman. Maybe he was distracted and made a simple mistake. Hope that is the case. Despite that I hope the fish still tasted good. We still need to hope that it was a simple mistake😀😀.
      Hey thanks for sharing your story

      Have a peaceful day

  4. Beena,

    Your musings are inspirational! I am in full agreement that kindness is contagious and that one act of kindness can multiply many-fold. We should all aim for an act of random kindness a day – it will do good to others and to one’s own soul! Cheers my friend!

    1. Hi Allan

      If everyone can practise one act of kindness, the world will be a better place. Despite many attempts to make this world a better place, it would appear it is hard for kindness to work. But let us hope the world will become a better place:). As HOPE lives.

      Take care

      Beena

  5. I experienced great kindness from a stranger when I was in Bangkok. Around lunch time, I walked into a busy shop with many foodstalls. Being a very hot day I wanted something cold. I was trying hard with my sign language when a young lady asked in English if she could help. Indeed she could! After she had ordered for me, I thanked her and sat down and to wait for my delectable ice concoction. She too sat nearby. When my order came, she took out some money and paid for me! Amid my protests she firmly said “You are a visitor to my country, please let me treat you.” I was really touched and humbled by her gesture. She really made the world a better and more beautiful place for me that day.

    1. Hi Nyuk

      What a heartwarming story that is. I wish you had written that as a story here. Hope you will. You have tons of stories that you can pen with your diverse experiences in life. Please contribute a story. Looking forward to reading one soon.

      Beena

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