Now, before I go on, let me clarify: it wasn't my birthday, I hadn't just passed an exam or got a new job. I'd done nothing to warrant such a thoughtful gift. It was, my friend told me, a spur-of-the-moment gift because she thought I'd been feeling stressed recently and she wanted to cheer me up.
No ulterior motive, no special occasion. Just a random act of kindness by one of the people I love most in the world. My friend wasn't getting anything in return for this; in fact, she was probably losing money for paying for my gift. She didn't expect a gift from me as a result of her generosity. She just wanted to make me happy.
This adorable gesture had me thinking: when do we humans ever do anything that is purely NICE for someone else without an underlying selfishness involved? When are we just kind to others for the sake of being kind? We live in a very cynical, selfish, competitive society, and I'm not saying that this is necessarily a bad thing, just that it tends to make us cynical, selfish, competitive people. And there's a time and a place for all that. We needn't be selfish all the time. It's mostly an unattractive personality trait, and one that needs to be stamped out occasionally.
I confess myself to not being a great advocate of generosity (I'm still working on the whole 'sharing food' malarkey), and admit that it's something that I need to work on. I'm a selfish creature at heart, and rarely do things for other people if I'm not going to benefit from them in some way, a fact that embarrasses me.
So, I'm making a vow - to this blog, and to myself: to do nice things for other people without demanding attention or gratitude in return; to remind the people I care about how much they mean to me; to gain pleasure out of someone else's happiness and not my own. To be kind, because that is the best thing anyone could ever hope to be. And I want you to vow with me. This week, if you can, try to carry out a random act of kindness. It could be as big as surprising your friend or partner with a lovely meal, or as small as a heartfelt text. It could be sending a letter to someone you haven't seen in a while; buying your friend some chocolate at the supermarket because you know it's her favourite kind; donating some money to charity; volunteering at an animal shelter; anything. Whatever you choose to do applies, as long as you're doing something nice for someone else with no benefit on your part, aside from the pleasure of knowing you've played a part in someone's happiness.
Try it. You've no idea how rewarding it could be.
Until next week,
Olivia x
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