I think one of the most underrated things about kindness is that you never really know where it will end... sometimes someone does something small for you and they probably forget about it the next day but for you, that moment stays... Then months or even years later, you find yourself doing something similar for somebody else...Not because anyone asked you to... you just remember how it felt when someone helped you.
I have experienced this in different ways... I have always been on the giving end, but I went out with friends this particular time and as usual I already had it in mind that I was taking care of everything.. not because my friends didn't like to pay, I just liked to do it... so we started placing our order and after a few hour's we were about to leave, and I asked for the bill but the waiter said the bill had been cleared... then my friends laughed and stepped out.. even paid for my uber back home..
As normal as this sounds, I just couldn't have expected that I wouldn't be in a position to do the spending... since then, I have had it in my mind that kindness would always find its was back to me, so I always try to give my best when I can..
These things may look small from the outside but when you are the person who needs the help, they can mean a lot and I think that is how the chain starts...
Someone helps you. You remember. Later, you meet someone who needs help. You help them and Maybe that person will do the same for someone else...
The funny thing is that the person who started the whole thing may never know.. They may not even remember helping you but their action has already travelled further than they imagined...
I also think kindness doesn't always have to involve money... Sometimes sharing information with someone can change their situation.. Sometimes recommending someone for a job can help them get back on their feet..
Sometimes listening to someone who is having a terrible day is enough and Sometimes you simply give someone another chance...
We often underestimate these things because they don't look like major achievements but life is made up of these little moments...
Personally, I would rather be part of that chain than be the person who breaks it... If somebody has helped me when they didn't have to, I want to remember that... If someone gave me an opportunity, I want to give somebody else one when I have the chance... If someone shared knowledge with me freely, I don't see why I should keep useful knowledge to myself when someone else needs it and if somebody was kind to me during a difficult period, I want to be capable of showing that same kindness to someone else...
Not every good thing we do will come back to us and I think that's okay because Sometimes the reward is simply knowing that you made somebody's day a little easier...
Maybe that person will remember you. Maybe they won't but perhaps they will remember the feeling and one day, when another person needs help, they might pass that feeling forward...
That's what The Good Chain means to me. Goodness doesn't always have to be loud. Sometimes it is just one person helping another person. Then that person helps someone else and before you know it, something that started with one small act has travelled through people you may never meet...
Maybe that's one of the best things we can leave behind... not money, not fame, but a chain of people who became a little kinder because someone was kind to them first.
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