EYES&EARS - - act of kindness

this is my 2nd blog under this section . .

it's actually based on something i just saw today, March 30th 2009

ACT OF KINDNESS

today, i rode the bus home. i crossed the bridge in front of Le Meridien to get to the other side of Jl. Jend. Sudirman. under the bridge, there's this woman. i've seen her two times already. both times that i saw her, she was wearing the same flowered dress, well, more like "daster". she wasn't dirty but everyone around knows that she's mm . . crazy because she plays with old Aqua cups and spits out the plastic incessantly. she doesn't disturb anybody. she is JUST THERE.

now today, i saw a 640 bus passed. its route is Ps. Minggu-Tn.Abang (pardon my expertise on public transportation :) i ride the bus a lot these days, and i tend to observe). as usual, the "kenek" -- i really have no clue what "kenek" is in english, sorry -- got off the bus and yelled its route to get more passengers, but what i hadn't expected was that he approached the crazy woman and handed her a Rp1000 bill. he just put it in her hand and got back in his bus. i looked at him. first, he didn't see me but as the bus passed by, he saw me. i smiled and he smiled, SINCERELY.

ok. so maybe this doesn't sound too exciting. it doesn't make you cry your eyes out or anything. it didn't make me weep, either. but it made me feel EASIER about my day.

Rp1000 is not a lot. it doesn't really buy anything these days. but the way, he approached her and had the realization that someone else needed it more than him, that deserves a standing ovation. taking just a bit of your time and attention to give it to someone else, that's BIG.

i'm a christian, and it says in my bible, that true GIVING is when you give out of your own lacking, and that's exactly what that "kenek" man did.

the other thing i noticed was how EASY that smile he gave me was. it was as if "it's alll gooood". it wasn't those cheap smiles guys give girls that look like he just wants a piece of your ass *those nasty smiles. UGH.* it was SINCERE. and that's rare to find these days.

kalo kita denger kata "kebaikan" or "kindness", the images that come to mind may be of giving millions to charity, or going to a poor section of the country to adopt a needy kid, or donating to an orphanage, etcetc. these great images are actually what make us put off being nice.

i often think "ahh. baru bisa ngasihh sgini, ntar aj lahh klo bisa ngasii more" yadayadayada.

we forget that the littlest things MATTER.

even a smile, or a "thank you" can be meaningful.
in this day and age full of depression and hatred, those things can really turn it around.

so care,
show just how bright you truly shine.
smile once in a while, you don't know whose day you've just brightened.
plus, it's free. what harm could it possibly do?

be thankful. and show that you are :)

*i promise : tomorrow, i'll practice smiling nicely no matter how much i want to scream due to any stress in my life. just smile. that's it :)

i'm not trying to be a saint. don't mean to sound like one, either.

merely a girl trying to have more sincerity in this hypocritical world we're living in.

is that really too much?

hmm . .
what have you observed today?
any act of kindness of your own?
whose day have you brightened?


tell me.
i'd love to hear it.

l o v e ,

clarissa tracy priscilla.