Always be kind whenever you can. It’s true that not everyone will acknowledge it, but if you’re drawn to shine your beautiful inner light via a gesture of kindness, please do.
Today, I watched a guardian loudly reprimand her young
charge for holding the door open for others.
I didn’t see the young boy when he and his guardian came through the
store’s entrance. I didn’t notice how
many people he had held the door open for or how many had acknowledged his
kindness. I only noticed the duo when
his guardian was standing a few feet away from me, looking back at the boy who
was still holding the door open several feet away from where she stood. I wouldn’t have noticed them had she not
spoken so loudly, calling out to him, saying he shouldn’t be holding the door
open because people didn’t appreciate his efforts. Maybe she had watched him for a bit and saw
that while he held the door open, the customers who entered hadn’t acknowledged
him. Maybe she was remembering times
when she had proffered kindness and also wasn’t acknowledged. Maybe she just wanted to move on with their
shopping. Maybe all of the
aforementioned. Maybe not. Truth is, one truly never knows what others
are carrying (ancestral, familial, personal) and navigating (again, ancestral,
familial, personal).
I wanted to say something to the boy as I watched him and
the bewildered expression on his face as he followed her into the store’s
elevator. But he was too far away and I
didn’t want him to get an additional talking to from his guardian for keeping
her waiting. I wanted to tell him thank
you for feeling inclined to hold the door open for others. I wanted to tell him that while his guardian
was correct that some folks wouldn’t acknowledge it (for a variety of reasons),
it didn’t take away from the kindness of the gesture. I wanted to tell him that it was always the
right decision to proffer gestures of kindness if one felt inclined.