Kindness Is Underrated

Dear Readers,

The trending news over the past couple of weeks has been rather sad – be it about a heart-breaking video that went viral about an under-nourished street dog trying to take shelter in a building for survival, only to be gruesomely beaten by the watchman; or the alleged attempt by a politician to murder a rape survivor to prevent her from having her day in court and punishing the cowardly brute of a criminal; or then, the unfortunate loss of a much respected businessman, the founder of one of the largest Café chains who ended his life, seeing no hope in sight. It makes one recall the alarming rate at which suicides – especially amongst students and farmers, the country’s two most integral pillars – are on the rise.

When we live in a nation simmering with racial, political and economic strife, where such dismal news dominates the headlines every so often, and where comments on social media often turn into vitriolic cesspools and degenerate into online bullying — kindness is a much needed, yet severely underrated trait.

Kindness is compassion infused with wisdom, reinforced with courage and fortified with balance. We are indeed starved for kindness, though it’s the ultimate counterintuitive solution to all those insecurities and worries. It makes you self-aware and helps rid you of destructive ego; it helps you live in the moment through the eyes of another, donning another’s shoes. But most of all, practicing kindness with others helps you practice kindness with yourself, lifting you out of your anxious and deprecating self-obsession.

The great Lao Tzu has said, “Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love.” What better way to get rid of cowardice, pettiness and hate! The only real solution is kindness, and it may well be the savior that delivers our nation out of this phase, which feels like one unevenly brewed, heady concoction… right out of the Shakespearean Midsummer Night’s Dream-turned-nightmare… The one who selleth coffee, liveth no more! The one who selleth ale, escapeth the nation! The one who selleth tea, ruleth the country! So, dear friends, if and when your cup runneth over – ensure it’s not with tea, coffee or beer – but only and only kindness!

 

 

– Anahita