My Daily Cup Of Kindness

Aug 22
NabanitaDhar

Have you noticed all the wonderful things people do for you every day? Not big things. The small gestures of kindness that makes up your day? A cup of ginger tea actually made me ponder about how there is still loads of kind souls around us making the world better with kindness.

 

One of the things I can’t live without at work is my cuppa of ginger tea. Every single day without fail I walk up to that awesome tea stall at work and get my very own cup of gingery goodness. In fact, I have become so much of a regular there that I don’t even have to utter a single word. One look at me in the queue and they have it ready. I love this trivial, seemingly insignificant but beautiful part of my day. That unspoken bond, transient yet wonderful, temporary yet permanent among strangers but not quite. An unspoken pact between individuals who don’t even know each other’s names. Beautiful, isn’t it?


Like clockwork, I find myself at their counter, waiting to swipe my card and get my piping hot chai. Today however their machine wasn’t working and sadly I didn’t have any cash on me. That’s when the boy behind the counter just gave me the coupon with a smile. Yes, a coupon for my usual order and without even saying a thing or me asking for it. When I said I’ll get the cash and then come back for tea later, he just smiled and told me to enjoy the tea instead and to give him the cash later. Simple, sweet gesture, right? Somehow this touched my heart. It reminded me of how kindness still resides in each one of us. It was something I needed to start my day, my daily dose of kindness.

 

Now that I think about it, there is so much good around me, around us actually, but we somehow fail to notice it. Or, we do but choose to just go through life without acknowledging these small yet very significant deeds.

 

These past few days, I have tried to notice more, acknowledge these acts too. I have seen how people sometimes go out of the way to care when they really don’t need to.

 

Most of you might know by now that I’m a working mom. I take a cab to my daughter’s crèche, drop her there and then walk to work. While coming home too, I take a cab. It’s difficult sometimes because I need to carry her along with her bag for the day which really is very heavy. A cab solves that problem partially by taking me directly to my apartment premises. It becomes slightly easier for me then. But on days when I can’t find a cab, it becomes really difficult for me. But you gotta do, what you gotta do, right?

 

The other day when the same thing happened, I took the office bus back home. Somehow I alighted at the drop point with M, her stuff and crossed the busy road. But just as I entered through the gates of my apartment, one of the security guards came running to help me carry everything. He insisted on dropping me till the lift. Now if that isn’t kindness or goodness of the heart then what is? Sometimes people really go above and beyond expectations, don’t they?

 

I wonder why we, you and me, don’t talk about these acts more. Why do we focus on the bad and not the good more?

 

There is this security guard who navigates traffic outside my office. Every day when I wait for the cab with the little one, burdened by the weight of the bags on me, he helps me get into the cab. In fact, he even holds the door for me and lets the cab stop in a no stopping zone for those few extra minutes. It’s wonderful, isn’t it? I don’t know his name yet but maybe I should ask. Maybe just to call him by his name when I thank him?

 

Then there are some cab drivers who help me get all the bags down. Or, some just smile when M plays with me in the cab. They acknowledge that it’s not easy what I do and they say that with their seemingly insignificant yet very significant gestures.

 

I have this colleague. She’s in Melbourne now. Last year when I was pregnant, she would offer to fill my water bottle. On some days she would even cook for me. She didn’t have to but she did anyway. If that’s not being kind then what is? She used to worry that I skipped breakfast or never paid attention to it. She used to even get titbits just to enhance my taste and get me to eat something. Wonderful, isn’t it, how people touch you in the most unassuming ways?

 

There really is so much good around us. I wish for a change, I can focus on that. Just focus on everything kind and all things nice. Will you join me?

 

What was the last kind thing done to you? Do share.

 

#MicroblogMondays

41 thoughts on “My Daily Cup Of Kindness”

  1. Reading about acts of kindness first thing in the morning gives a positive start to the day and thank you Nabanita for doing that for your readers today. There are more good people and acts of kindness around us but it is just that since we focus more on the opposite, the negative aspects, we consider everything a bad place to be in. And most important,do not forget to be kind to yourself as well.

  2. Reading about acts of kindness first thing in the morning gives a positive start to the day and thank you Nabanita for doing that for your readers today. There are more good people and acts of kindness around us but it is just that since we focus more on the opposite, the negative aspects, we consider everything a bad place to be in. And most important,do not forget to be kind to yourself as well.

  3. So much goodness around us and yet we concentrate on the bad vibes. It's really nice to read about all those beautiful gestures… there are people who are just nice in and out. They don't think twice to lend a helping hand. Beautiful post 🙂

  4. This was such a lovely post to read in the morning, Naba. Yes, there is so much kindness around us which we sometimes miss to notice or feel grateful for. The last kind thing done for me was when the colleagues rearranged their schedules for a last-minute change in mine.

  5. It really is the little things, Naba. I love how you catalogued simple moments in such a heartwarming way. We have to pause and pay attention to these things. In the larger scheme of things, these are the moments that will really matter and help us on our spiritual journey. Thank you for making me smile this Monday morning 🙂

  6. You really made me feel good again.We should think of small acts of kindness and appreciate them.This helps us to forget the rude behaviour of some people we get to encounter once in a while

  7. Yes indeed these little gestures and acts of kindness are what remind us of our shared humanity and human-ness. You are right, we need to acknowledge and appreciate these acts more. At the same time, we can't stop looking at the world in all its totality – good and bad, but we don't have to necessarily react in any extreme way to all of that! We may simply observe, understand and examine with a sense of detached view so that we may know how to navigate our path through the existence. And if we can act in some way – no matter how small it maybe, without any personal motive or selfish interest – we must. Thank you Naba for writing this.

  8. These little acts of kindness, they are there all around us but we sometimes fail to see them and appreciate. There's a kirana store opposite my apartment and it's always like walking into an extension of your home. The friendly shopkeeper always puts in some extra coriander or curry leaves or lets you walk away with a bag of groceries even if you don't have enough cash to pay at that moment.
    Such a lovely, positive post, Naba. Loved reading it 🙂

  10. Now that is a positive thought to start your week. I always believe *not always practice* that we must focus on the positives. It makes everything so right. Lovely piece.

  12. "An unspoken pact between individuals who don't even know each other's names. Beautiful, isn't it?" yesssss!!
    Very good post! Definitely a nice reminder on how to pay more attention to the positives in our day rather then the negatives.

  13. Such beautiful post Naba. Heart warming to be precise. These small acts of kindness makes so much of difference in our lives, don't they? They lighten up our mood and bring smile to our faces, regaining our faith in humanity.

    I'm sure you're a very kind person. That's the reason why everyone around you is so kind, the security guard, the traffic man, the cab drivers, all of them.

    Beautifully expressed 🙂

    Cheers
    Geets

  14. Thank you for sharing, Naba. And a great question in there about why we don't acknowledge and share the kindness we receive more than we do the 'bad stuff'.
    I need to think on what's the latest kind thing I've done…

  16. Glad you like the positivity of the post, Anamika. I often tend to see the glass as half empty but sometimes life reminds me that I shouldn't. And I'll try and remember to be kind to myself as well 🙂

  17. Thanks, Rajlakshmi. It's wonderful to reiterate every once in a while that the world is not such a bad place after all 🙂

  19. Thank you for making my day, Shailaja. I feel happy that my post connected with you and yes, you are right acknowledging these moments of kindness is what matters at the end of the day

  20. So happy that the post could do that, Subha…And yes, these good moments does help with the negativity and rude behavior that we encounter

  21. Absolutely, Beloo. We can't separate one from the other. We have to take everything that is there in the world and try to make it a better place in any way we can. And if we can't , atleast acknowledge the good and also be aware of what is wrong

  22. So wonderful. I love when people do something which they don't really have to. Thanks for sharing your story , Uma 🙂

  26. Oh not at all, Geets.I'm not that kind at all but people have been kind. And you are right, it's good to think about these moments to lighten up our mood and just smile for a change 🙂

  27. I know, you have helped some stressed girls relieve stress by initiating fun discussions 🙂 Glad you liked the post, Corinne .

  29. What a lovely post! I love these moments in life and trust me, when you begin to notice more will come your way. We also have a chai point in the food court in our campus and similar thing happens. He knows what I want. To add to that I have started wishing people in my area and it is so much fun. People smile and nod and is a happy feeling every morning 🙂

  30. I love that you posed the question: "What was the last kind thing done to you?" instead of asking about one we'd done for someone else. I also love that the tea that comforts you every day went to a whole other level on the one day when you thought you wouldn't have it. xo beautiful… I'm still thinking about those 2 runners who helped each other during the Olympics when each fell. wonderful.

  31. I needed to read this today. I've been on the receiving end of bad behaviour, and I need to remember that there are also these really really good people out there who do kind things at the right moment. Just because.

  32. Random acts of kindness are just awesome, aren't they? The unexpected nature of it makes it all the more special.
    The last act of kindness that I received ? Hmm..been a while I reckon. Must be around more kind people 🙂

    I did help an elderly lady carry her groceries up the stairs to the 16th floor because the lifts were out of order. So I'll wait for Karma to find me

  33. Gosh I actually dont remember … Maybe I should just do more random acts of kindness for good karma to come searching my way!!!

  34. Very nice and heartfelt in the way you've brought out those little unseen everyday moments of kindness. Come to think of it, it takes so little for people to touch one another's lives in a positive way, isn't it, and yet, we are so conditioned to nit-picking that we tend to often overlook these. The last kind thing done to me? Well, I was in the lift carrying a heavy shopping bag with all my groceries and this housekeeping lady saw me struggling with a sprained arm and volunteered to not only press the lift button for me but also to carry the bag even though I insisted I could do so myself. I invited her home for a cup of tea and thanked her. Win-win for both of us 🙂

  35. Ahh. I sit so far away from my Team and don't know anyone around me. But I guess I can still wish them 🙂

  36. Thanks… And yes, most people are kind. We need to acknowledge these acts and share a little of the happiness that comes with it.

  39. Oh that is so wonu, Esha. How such trivial acts enhance our life experience and cost nothing at all..

  41. Chanced upon your blog and fell in love with it! I too find peace and comfort in tea. 🙂 Really loved the positivity you showcased so simply…I will def follow all your posts henceforth and look forward to them! Keep writing…and if you get some time when you are not busy with M,then do check out my blog 😀
    https://tanvikarnik.blogspot.in/

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