“I prefer you to make mistakes in kindness, than that you work miracles in unkindness”
– Mother Teresa
(August 26 1910 – September 5 1997)
It was many years ago I heard the term “Random Acts of Kindness”. I thought how lovely and simple the term conveys the essence of interacting with others.
The sheer act of opening a door, offering a compliment, or lending a hand to someone in need. From that point on I decided to look for at least one thing I might do every day to be more kind, inspire another to live up to their greatness, or encourage someone who might only need one person to recognize their brilliance.
I don’t succeed every single day but I make a great effort to keep a watch out for what I might do. One day I drove an 80 year old man around the parking lot until we found his car. Another day I noticed an elderly woman sitting on a bench with a suitcase at our BART train station. I found out she was waiting for a bus to take her back to Modesto but was sitting in the wrong area. I made a couple of phone calls, drove her to the right area and even found someone going in the same direction to ask they watch out for her.
I make note of the incidences as often as I remember, they are like small milestones in my path of life.