At this point my cartwheeling stopped and was replaced by rolling of eyes on the inside . I thought I already knew where this was headed, so I started coming up with 1000 excuses to give when this went where I thought it was going. I am sure you all pretty much know where that is by now. Well guess what? Shame on all of us!! Me first!! This man handed me my coffee, paid for it, wished me a good day, complemented my fragrance one more time and walked away!!! No way!!!! He didn't ask for my number, or the cliche can we get together for coffee or any other of those lines that just leave you tired. He just walked away !!!
I stood there for a minute jaw on floor dumbfounded, with mixed feelings of ouch ( hellooo) and wow ( gentlemen still exist!!?!!). This man; total stranger at that,had no motive whatsoever. He was simply appreciating a fellow human being; who happened to be female. Brightening someone's day early in the morning with coffee and a complement to go with it. And boy wasn't my day made!!!
In the perverse times we are living in, we are almost too used to 'too good to be true' to an extent that we don't expect any good deed without a hidden motive. This has in turn discouraged even those who intended to show kindness and made them shy from being overly kind to strangers. For those who have been reading my blogs, remember the blog on knight? Well currently my great friend, knight was on that night very skeptical of taking the drink I got him. Why? Girls don't just buy guys drinks without a motive. Well now he knows I had no motive but that night was another story.
Slowly but surely, we are eroding the communistic norm of Africa and going the individualistic way. Gone are the days we were our 'brothers keeper ' instead it's now ' every man for himself'. Gone are the days where if we ran out of salt at night we would confidently go to the neighbor next door with a bowl and get some. In our quest for westernization we are losing a very important virtue that Africa has always boasted ; UBUNTU ( kindness to one another; not only those you know but strangers as well ).
Think about this today as you live your lives. A kind act as simple as a compliment will cost you nothing but it might brighten someone's day in such a way that they will remember months or even years to come. I can promise you I am not forgetting that coffee anytime soon. My mother taught me as a young child ' you reap what you sow '. That has been revealed to me in so many different ways, many times in my life. She was right of course as all mothers are. If we all started showing kindness to one another, paying attention to fellow human beings amidst our busy schedules imagine what life would be like. Just try and show kindness to at least one person a day. Try do something for one person that they will never be able to pay you back. Brighten people's day with a smile, a hug ( yours could be the only hug they get on a day they need it the most), a gift, a note or a complement; the list is endless. The best things in life are free my loved ones. Give today without expecting anything in return. Just love, and let those you love know that they are loved every chance you get. YES, even your mother who knows all too well that you adore her, remind her everyday that she is awesome!!! Lets all go the UBUNTU way, Lets start an UBUNTU fever and May everybody catch it!!!!!!
This is one of the best ways to live our lives!!!
Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier ~ Mother Teresa.
No comments:
Post a Comment