When I feed my cats each day,
I urge them to be kind to each other. To take care of each other. Mommy the
Siamese and her daughter, the Tortie, seem to understand. They eat with delicate
politesse from the same bowl. They crouch on opposite sides as they dine,
resembling an adorable, fuzzy yin/yang symbol. Like the forces represented by
the symbol, they truly are interconnected and interdependent. Despite the occasional
brief skirmish, they are best friends.
We need friends because life
can be hard, indeed. Just when you think you’re getting ahead of the game,
along comes the family squabble, the leaking roof, or the aching back.
And life is full of cruel
ironies. Take Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, for instance. What could be more
natural than, after you’ve gone through an horrific, painful experience, to do virtually
anything to prevent that misery from happening to you again? Yet sometimes that
natural urge to protect yourself morphs into something monstrous, and becomes
as damaging as the initial trauma.
It’s a ridiculous
understatement to say that the world can be a harsh place. And each day, we’re
bombarded by images on our TVs, computers and smart phones of barbarity and
callousness. Of sheer willful stupidity and disregard for the wellbeing of others.
Which is why it is so very
important for each of us to show gentleness in our little corners of the world.
Like the older gentleman in the photo, for example. His dog is getting on in
years and struggles with the pain of arthritis and failing eyesight. But he
loves her dearly. Wants her to feel the sunshine and breezes, to sniff the
myriad scents her canine snoot can pick up. So each day, he gently picks her
up, puts her in a wheelchair and takes her for a ride down the street.
It’s not a huge gesture. It won’t
redress any major wrongs or improve the lives of thousands. Yet it is
undeniably an act of kindness. It alleviates a bit of suffering and brings a
bit of joy to two living creatures whose lives are interconnected and
interdependent.
Acts of kindness matter, no
matter how small.
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