kindness. empathy. compassion.
what do these words mean to you?
can you picture them?
can you place an exact moment or image that attaches meaning to these words?
up until today i couldnt, they were just words to me; words i understood, words i had somewhat experienced, words i attempt to evoke into actions.
today they became a reality, something i could visualize when hearing them. the exact precedent of what they TRULY meant.
i decided to go to the grocery store after my final class of the day to pick up a few of the essentials, so i took the always overly vacated number 7 bus as far as it would take me and walked the rest of the way down to zehrs. i accumulated my "must haves"-which consisted of the very foreseen objects for a university student; coffee-to keep me awake whilst paying penance for the previous nights debauchery, popcorn-to snack on while reading countless of required chapters in countless of required books, and of course my always esteemed and indulgent hummus and pita.
with my select few purchases i got into line in that desired 1-8 item line and proceeded to wait.
i noticed a man one person up from me fidgeting, digging into his pocket, looking at his future purchases, then peering back down at the money in his hands, then looking in such a perplexed and ashamed way at his son, who stood idly by holding a tiny toy car in a box with the most innocent and endearing smile i have ever seen on a child.
once the cashier rang him in and re-iterated the 'damage' so to speak. the man bowed his head and told her he had to return something, she inserted her look of remorse and nodded. i understood the situation, i had seen it before, maybe once or twice. its that situation that we as canadians have been fortunate enough not to encounter as often as those of lesser countries. my heart broke in that instance-that moment that i realized this man did not have enough money. he had to endure the moment when he walks past the rest of the line to return an item due to lack of funds-the ultimate embarrassment. even more so as his son watched.
just then i observed a guy directly in front of me pull out a twenty dollar bill and drop it on the floor. shortly after i witnessed the most beautiful act of kindness i have ever seen in my entire 22 years on earth.
the guy in front of me tapped the mortified man in front of him.
"excuse me sir, i think you dropped that a moment ago."
he then pointed to the twenty dollar bill laying on the floor in front of him. the man hesitated; he knew it wasnt his-i knew it wasnt his, but in that moment-the two men exchanged glances and had an understanding, an understand of kindness, empathy and compassion. with that look, that moment of understanding, the man picked up the bill and paid for his purchases, as he left he glanced back at the guy in front of me and gave him the most heartfelt nod, with a smile that could only be exemplified by someone with such thanks and admiration that the man had.
i was bewildered. but not confused, in fact, i was finally in understanding of what those words truly meant and looked like; kindness, empathy, compassion. i saw it first hand- this is the way humans are SUPPOSED to be. the intricacy of how beautiful it was engulfed me in emotion to the extent of legitimate tears filling my eyes. i will never forget what i saw and from this moment on i will attempt to take on the humanadocious morals that the guy in front of me displayed. he didnt do it for recognition or attention, he just simply cared.
so what do kindness, empathy and compassion mean to me now?
everything.
what do these words mean to you?
can you picture them?
can you place an exact moment or image that attaches meaning to these words?
up until today i couldnt, they were just words to me; words i understood, words i had somewhat experienced, words i attempt to evoke into actions.
today they became a reality, something i could visualize when hearing them. the exact precedent of what they TRULY meant.
i decided to go to the grocery store after my final class of the day to pick up a few of the essentials, so i took the always overly vacated number 7 bus as far as it would take me and walked the rest of the way down to zehrs. i accumulated my "must haves"-which consisted of the very foreseen objects for a university student; coffee-to keep me awake whilst paying penance for the previous nights debauchery, popcorn-to snack on while reading countless of required chapters in countless of required books, and of course my always esteemed and indulgent hummus and pita.
with my select few purchases i got into line in that desired 1-8 item line and proceeded to wait.
i noticed a man one person up from me fidgeting, digging into his pocket, looking at his future purchases, then peering back down at the money in his hands, then looking in such a perplexed and ashamed way at his son, who stood idly by holding a tiny toy car in a box with the most innocent and endearing smile i have ever seen on a child.
once the cashier rang him in and re-iterated the 'damage' so to speak. the man bowed his head and told her he had to return something, she inserted her look of remorse and nodded. i understood the situation, i had seen it before, maybe once or twice. its that situation that we as canadians have been fortunate enough not to encounter as often as those of lesser countries. my heart broke in that instance-that moment that i realized this man did not have enough money. he had to endure the moment when he walks past the rest of the line to return an item due to lack of funds-the ultimate embarrassment. even more so as his son watched.
just then i observed a guy directly in front of me pull out a twenty dollar bill and drop it on the floor. shortly after i witnessed the most beautiful act of kindness i have ever seen in my entire 22 years on earth.
the guy in front of me tapped the mortified man in front of him.
"excuse me sir, i think you dropped that a moment ago."
he then pointed to the twenty dollar bill laying on the floor in front of him. the man hesitated; he knew it wasnt his-i knew it wasnt his, but in that moment-the two men exchanged glances and had an understanding, an understand of kindness, empathy and compassion. with that look, that moment of understanding, the man picked up the bill and paid for his purchases, as he left he glanced back at the guy in front of me and gave him the most heartfelt nod, with a smile that could only be exemplified by someone with such thanks and admiration that the man had.
i was bewildered. but not confused, in fact, i was finally in understanding of what those words truly meant and looked like; kindness, empathy, compassion. i saw it first hand- this is the way humans are SUPPOSED to be. the intricacy of how beautiful it was engulfed me in emotion to the extent of legitimate tears filling my eyes. i will never forget what i saw and from this moment on i will attempt to take on the humanadocious morals that the guy in front of me displayed. he didnt do it for recognition or attention, he just simply cared.
so what do kindness, empathy and compassion mean to me now?
everything.
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