Common courtesy is getting uncommon. There was this incident that I
witnessed in the bus yesterday. The pregnant woman asked the nearest girl to
give up her seat, as she looked so uncomfortable and pale because the bus
driver was going too fast. Surprisingly, the girl refused to and in the end, an
old man stood up and held the woman to the seat. Holding a door for someone or
giving up a seat to the elderly or a child used to be expected. But these days,
it’s almost surprising that even if the woman is obviously pregnant, she is
needed to stand throughout her journey in the public transport.
We were all told in the early age to be kind to other people. But as we
get older, our own stresses and responsibilities build up, it has become a
routine that we have forgotten how to be kind to the people around us. Although
the girl refused to give up her seat, I was so grateful that there are still
some individuals who are willing to offer their hands to others without asking
for compensation or rewards.
There were this heat news where the strangers are performing random acts
of kindness in memory of twin boys who lost their lives months after they were
born (Pelletiere, 2017). Their parent launched a social media campaign
#forLandL to encourage the people to perform 12 good deeds on their sons’ May
12 birthday. It was started in year 2016 and it was done again this year. By
using the hashtag, people shared their kind acts on social media and the
response was very overwhelmed.
Everyone around us is carrying a weight on their shoulders that we can’t
imagine, but sometimes even the smallest act of kindness can make that weight
seems a little lighter, especially to those that have not had a good day. You
have the power to change someone’s life for the better in practicing a random
act of kindness. You may simply intervene and lift their spirits and day higher
than they thought possible, or you might change their whole way of thinking. It
acts as a ripple effect where you kindness will be spread without limit.
Strange enough, some people are reluctant in doing something nice, as
they fear that they might seem strange or weird, which is truly a sad
reflection of the society. Yet, the researchers from Old Dominion University
conducted an investigation in the public by distributing 122 flowers to the
people on the street. Their purpose was to observe the reactions to a random
act of kindness. The results have clearly shown that most people have positive
reaction when they receive the flower from the stranger (Baskerville et al.,
2000).
So, here’s my challenge to all of you. Go out today and do one random
act of kindness to a complete stranger. It is important to remember that acts
of kindness do not have to be extravagant. Most of the time, they are just
simple courtesies that can brighten one’s day. I promise, you’ll make their day
ten times better, and you will then feel a little better, yourself.
References
Baskerville, K., Johnson, K., Monk-Turner, E., Slone, Q., Standley, H.,
Stansbury, S., Williams, M. and Young, J. (2000) Reactions to Random Acts of
Kindness. The Social Science Journal [online], v.37 (2), pp.293-298.
[Accessed:
27th July 2017]
Pelletiere, N. (2017) Strangers honor lives of twin babies with random
act of kindness [online], May 19th,
[Accessed:
27th July 2017]
By: Yau Che Yan, BAF1541
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