Kindness
By zandi458
@zandi458 (28102)
Malaysia
January 29, 2009 9:14pm CST
A couple of weeks ago, a fractured bone on my foot made it necessary for me to hobble around with a cane for several days. What was pleasant about this otherwise painful experience was the way I was treated by everyone. People open doors for me, helped me into cabs, gave me room in elevators. Their consideration made it a temptation to keep the cane longer than I need have my spirit blossomed under this kind of public treatment.
Yet the moment I laid aside this symbol of deficiency, people reverted to their old pushing, jostling selves. And it occurred to me that everybody has some sort of broken bone somewhere, even if it cannot be seen. Not physical bones, ofcourse, but emotional ones that are just as frail and tender.
There are many days when I needed more consideration than on the days I carried a cane, when my mind was troubled and my emotions churned and no one knew or cared. The little broken bone was minor, but it opened a floodgate of human sympathy.
It could be a fruitful experience for us to take a day off once in a while and threat every person we meet as if his foot was bandaged.
5 people like this
13 responses
@dpk262006 (58679)
• Delhi, India
30 Jan 09
I am sorry to hear about your fractured bone and I do hope now you are alright. Wish you speedy recovery.
You are absolutely right people show kindness and sympathy, when something becomes 'visible' to them. They are always in a hurry and do not mind jostling, untill and unless they see that anyone is walking in pain, may be with the help of a cane or something like that. Your thought is very nice and touching that we should take a day's off to help others, assuming they are injured.
You are absolutely right people show kindness and sympathy, when something becomes 'visible' to them. They are always in a hurry and do not mind jostling, untill and unless they see that anyone is walking in pain, may be with the help of a cane or something like that. Your thought is very nice and touching that we should take a day's off to help others, assuming they are injured. 
@dpk262006 (58679)
• Delhi, India
2 Feb 09
Yes, when anything goes abnormal with us, we get to see the true colours of our near and dear ones and other ordinary people. Kindness should not be forgotten, I agree with you.
1 person likes this
@zandi458 (28102)
• Malaysia
2 Feb 09
It should be in human nature to have values like patience, respect and honesty plus sympathy at all times so that this world is a better place to live in. It is good to taste human behaviour when we become temporarily abnormal and see how people react towards us. It is indeed very touching when you are being given a VIP treatment.
1 person likes this
@maygodblessu44 (7336)
• India
30 Jan 09
Hello my friend zandi458 Ji,
It goes without saying that "kindness even nowexists" and so world will go on.
May god bless you and have a great time.
@maygodblessu44 (7336)
• India
3 Feb 09
Hello my friend zandi458 ji,
So nice of you. may god bless you and have a great time.
@cher913 (25781)
• Canada
30 Jan 09
hi, i walk with a quad cane as my knees are not in the best of shape but sometimes if i just have to run into a store for a very quick second, i will leave it in the van. i can definitely tell that there is a difference between on how people treat me.
i am pretty young (47) and got my knees wrecked becauuse of being hit by a car. its funny how people look at your when you are walking with a cane. almost as if they are thinking you are faking it. (i should start carrying my xrays around and whip them out all the time!)
1 person likes this
@Sreekala (34312)
• India
30 Jan 09
Hi Zandi,
I am sorry to hear about your fracture and I hope you must have recovered now and I pray for your speedy recovery. I wish to appreciate you because you won to convey a strong message through your own story. People are seldom caring to others unless there is any visible disability. The question is why they can’t show the same care and concern to others all the time. So my opinion is, if we are showing care and concern for watching a physical disability it is not care and concern but it is only sympathy and I think most of the people hate the same feeling. Take care.
@bing28 (3795)
• Philippines
30 Jan 09
There are still good and kind people around but there are also some who never care. Let's just think that maybe they have some personal problems as well that they could no longer think of the good things or treatment they can do to others. There are even people who want to help but aloof of doing so.
@ANTIQUELADY (36440)
• United States
30 Jan 09
i totally agree w/you. it's a shame u have to get disabled to have kindness from people. it should just be a way of life. i have to use a cane most of the time when i go out to shop or whatever. i have seen the difference in people myself. there is good in people but i don't think they give it a chance to come out. everybody is so busy they think but u shouldn't ever be too busy to be kind.
@ANTIQUELADY (36440)
• United States
2 Feb 09
they have forgotten values & are not teaching values to their children, very sad.
1 person likes this
@quinnkl (1667)
• United States
30 Jan 09
Isn't that the truth. No one helps anyone anymore. AND no one says thank you if you do help them. What has happened to us as people? I wonder daily! My son often holds the door for people going into stores, or school, etc (way I was raised and he is being raised), just out of courtesy... and rarely, almost never does he get even a smile or nod let alone a word of thanks! What has happened to common courtesy and politeness in our world!?
1 person likes this
@zandi458 (28102)
• Malaysia
3 Feb 09
Good manners starts from home. One rule that seems universally applicable is that there will always be some events over which we do not have a personal hold. So, what are we going to do? Take it as a fact of life. Our attitude should be of acceptance of the fact that it has happened and we should try to find the remedy instead of feeling upset or shaken and losing the courage to face this kind of human attitude.
@bombshell (11256)
• Germany
30 Jan 09
sorry to hear about it and i agree but people get blind and no more respect.yes zandi you need holiday not few days few weeks.
1 person likes this
@Opal26 (17679)
• United States
30 Jan 09
Hey zandi! Gee, that's not exactly the way I got treated
when I had to use my cane! I still got pushed and even when
I had to stand in line people didn't care and sometimes just
pushed ahead of me and let me stand there knowing it was hard
for me to stand! True, there were some people who did treat
me with more respect and opened doors and acted appropriately
of someone who obviously had an injury. But, unfortunately
there were more people who really couldn't have cared less!
I had to use a cane for 5 months so I had plenty of time to
see how people treated me! It is sad that more people aren't
more mindful of how others feel, but this is the world we
live in! If I could be treated this way with a cane, I hate
to say how I am treated without it!
1 person likes this
@zandi458 (28102)
• Malaysia
2 Feb 09
It is very unfortunate it happen to you like that. Some people really have no compassion for others and what happen to those who are handicap. They may feel outright rejection when people do not show value towards them. When we are out and down we do not demand respect but at least show some compassion for people who are injured and fragile.
@deborahkat (519)
• Brazil
30 Jan 09
That´s beautiful what you say and really true. Once at work a man came to see my boss and he wasn´t at the office. I was alone and had just made coffee and got some nice cookies also. Then I kindly asked him if he wanted coffee and said he could feel comfortable and serve himself of the coffee and the cookies and if he needed anything I was there to help. He looked at me so surprized that I started to wonder why, than I thought with myself that he should not be used with kindness. I try to be kind with everybody but sometimes is difficult cause when we start the day seeing everybody with bad or sad face on a crowded bus in the morning going to work, maybe a job they don´t enjoy, and we are feeling just the same we start to just look deep inside ourselves and we forget others. When we stop to think we passed by hundreds of different people during the day and didn´t even looked to their faces. And this is sad.
1 person likes this
@Dday50627 (359)
• United States
30 Jan 09
hello to you sweet lady... I am sorry for your injury but your story was refreshing and the truth in it strong.I will not be so long winded here. {smiles} You are very right in that everyone we meet is fighting some demon, whether it be physical or inside. Our actions towards someone we see can be the difference between them smiling or not. When i am down, sometimes, just the smile from a stranger can change my whole day. Words spoken unfriendly can do the same. We don't know what the person beside us is going through. They could be teetering on the desicion to stay or go and our actions could take them either way.
My father taught me to be kind to everyone because you never know when that person may be the very person sent to you in your hour of need. it doesn't take something huge. Just a smile or a good morning or even to hold the door open for someone. The wonderful thing is that it is often 2 -way. You smile at them and bring sun into their day and they smile back. Now you have the Sun also. Doesn't get better than that. Always, Darrel
1 person likes this
@zandi458 (28102)
• Malaysia
3 Feb 09
Hi dear, What you have say here is true. Good feelings for others is like ointment that heals wounds and re-establish friendship and relationships. Good feelings generated in the mind are expressed through your attitude and are reflected in your eyes and smile. Smiling opens the heart and a glance can make miracles happen.
@tudors (1556)
• China
30 Jan 09
very good comment ! It's true we always take something for granted until we lose it forever or temporarily, we realize how invaluable it is to us. Sometimes we don't need to experience it on our own, just take a look at others and think twice, then we know we should seize what in our hands , seize it tightly.
1 person likes this
