Compassion is a human instinct, and usually, we are born with it. But we also evolve to be compassionate and kind, receiving and observing such behaviour first-hand. Being kind is not just a response to the outside world and is nourished by self-reliance, a belief in one’s ability to cope with a situation.
It is hard to be kind when one is running around scared like a chicken with its head cut-off! It is no wonder that when there are large and seemingly hard-to-control situations, like natural disasters or this current pandemic, this (otherwise-hidden, in some) side comes out in people, in people who are looking for ways to be of service.
A heart-warming video went viral in which the dramatis personae can be heard speaking in Telugu. A woman, who appears to be of limited means sees some police officers on the road and doesn’t think twice of spending a few hundred rupees to quench the thirst of the cops braving the sun.
Moved by the woman’s gesture, the cop in the video asks her how much she earns a month. When the cops hear that she earns only Rs 3500, he proceeds to give her two soft drinks from his own kitty.
We hear stories about folks helping out seemingly strangers with food (and even alcohol in some places, though I believe it takes a higher degree of kindness to share alcohol than food as alcohol is contraband right now!), neighbours of different faiths helping out in a funeral in the absence of family, and many more in those lines.
It is a powerful privilege to choose to be kind. As Cinderella’s mom rightly told her, “where there is kindness, there is goodness and where there is goodness, there is magic!” Maybe this magic is what we need to fight the pandemic today!
