This time of the year is typically the season when people practice more kindness to everyone than at any other time of the year. Somehow this seasonal practice intrigues me. The same way that it puzzles me why many people think that the Thanksgiving holiday is the only ideal time for being thankful.
Am I alone in my opinion that today’s world has become increasingly unkind? People are more concerned about saving to be able to buy the latest electronic gadget than giving to charities that need help. I have seen how passersby would completely ignore the Salvation Army kettle despite the persistent bell ringing of the person manning it. At the bus stop, it’s painful to watch passengers scramble to get on board when there’s a handicapped person needing to get on the ramp first. Even the simple gesture of holding the door for someone behind us in a public place seems to have become a rare act of kindness.
America used to be a kinder nation. Perhaps, due to the downhill trend of our economy, citizens who are financially hurting have lost their patience and their ability to be gracious and kind. The money madness that made this country so great is perhaps also driving it to lose its soul.
What has become of our universe? People are frequently in a mad fastforward pace. The cell phone chatters are getting louder (and more graphic) even in cramped public places. People nowadays talk about delicate matters that used to be sacred… things we used to discuss only in whispers or in our private space. Motorists have become rude that it can be a fight for survival just crossing the street on the intersection even when the light indicates the pedestrian crossing sign.
Most accidents have happened because people are always in a crazy hurry to be someplace. Many drivers just want to show who has the right of way.... even if it doesn't belong to them at that instance. A week ago the news of a full-term pregnant woman being run over by an SUV at an intersection crosswalk was horrifying. The woman who was obviously just trying to get to the other side of the road ended up lying on the middle of the street with car marks on her stomach. She lost the baby. That was terrible considering that she was on the crosswalk, therefore had the right of way! The accident occurred at a nice development where such a bizarre event was unheard of. It was dark when the tragic incident happened and no one in the neighborhood could identify the SUV license tag. It was a hit and run and today the driver is still in hiding.
Kindness should be like an eternal flame that never burns out in the human heart. If practiced by and to anyone, regardless of race, color, shape and creed, our world will be a more giving and loving place.
I would like to share the poem I have grown attached to since finding it on a page of the Reader’s Digest a very long time ago. My personal belief is that if every child in our universe can take to heart the message of kindness and proper behavior contained in this poem, our world will be a perpetually pleasant place to be in.
I would like to share the poem I have grown attached to since finding it on a page of the Reader’s Digest a very long time ago. My personal belief is that if every child in our universe can take to heart the message of kindness and proper behavior contained in this poem, our world will be a perpetually pleasant place to be in.
All I Really Need To Know I Learned in Kindergarten
by Robert Fulghum
Most of what I really need
To know about how to live
And what to do and how to be
I learned in kindergarten.
Wisdom was not at the top
Of the graduate school mountain,
But there in the sandpile at Sunday school.
These are the things I learned:
These are the things I learned:
Share everything.
Play fair.
Don’t hit people.
Put things back where you found them
Clean up your own mess.
Don’t take things that aren’t yours.
Say you’re sorry when you hurt somebody.
Wash your hands before you eat.
Flush.
Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.
Live a balanced life –
Learn some and think some
And draw and paint and sing and dance
And play and work every day some.
Take a nap every afternoon.
When you go out into the world,
Watch out for traffic.
Hold hands and stick together.
Be aware of wonder.
The poem is a statement of very basic decent human conduct. Very simple to execute really, but for some reason, many people on this earth just don't get the importance of being nice.
May I add my personal thanks to Mr. Fulghum for this very thoughtful piece. People of this Planet, we may be stuck in this world together, so let's all get along and be kind to one another!
