
Sometimes a little kindness goes a long way.
Picture the scene: a flustered student running through a train station, weighed down with a backpack and two suitcases. She’s got a minute before the last train home leaves and two flights of stairs ahead of her.
It’s not looking good, and just as she’s resigned herself to a night on the grubby floors of Union Station, a man heading in the same direction offers a friendly smile and a hand with her suitcases up the stairs.
That student was me, and I couldn’t believe my shock at someone’s willingness to help a stranger — a simple act that is becoming far too uncommon in our present society.
I’m finding more and more that the number of times people will hold a door for others is being outweighed by those who let the doors slam.
It’s a troubling trend in the wrong direction. If we all lent an unexpected hand once in a while, the world would be a much sweeter place. Research has actually proven that kindness is good for you. David R. Hamilton, discussed five health benefits that kindness can have on your body in a 2011 Huffington Post article. Particularly noteworthy is the ‘Helper’s high’ that people may experience after a kind act due to the elevated levels of dopamine.
Sometimes, acts of kindness can even save lives. A report in the New England Journal of Medicine noted that in July 2007, a 28-year-old man donated his kidney to a stranger in need, inspiring 10 kidney donations from other donors that spanned the US. The man who carried my suitcases constantly reminds me to pay it forward. If a small act like that can continually inspire me, then what could regular acts of kindness do for society as a whole?
So go ahead, kill them with kindness. It’s good for you.
Rosie is one of the Features Editors at the Journal.
Tags
All final editorial decisions are made by the Editor(s) in Chief and/or the Managing Editor. Authors should not be ed, targeted, or harassed under any circumstances. If you have any grievances with this article, please direct your comments to [email protected].