Enough Kindness

“Be Kind” said the T shirt on my grandson. Was that telling me to be kind or were his parents hoping he’d catch the idea from reading it backwards in the mirror?

Some time ago there was a woman I was showering with acts of kindness, giving her lifts, fixing up shelves etc., in hopes of a proper relationship when suddenly she said: “Kindness is not enough”.

I dismissed the idea that I was not comparable to George Clooney – who is? But the “kindness” slight stung rather. I determined to stop helping people. I would be coldly indifferent to those in need. Those random acts of kindness (much vaunted on the internet) were not much valued after all. 

The very next day, as I was leaving the supermarket, I saw an older woman struggling with her bike. It had fallen over still attached to the bike stand and was now tangled with the lock. Gravity had left the keyhole inaccessible, face-down against the pavement. She was getting nowhere. I stopped, lifted the bike upright and twisted the lock round so she could unlock it. This took 30 seconds or so. Thus breaking my “unkindness pledge” - as this was not enough. Coldness and indifference had taken a knock. Don’t think I can stop doing this sort of thing. I’ve been brainwashed, I think over many years, by myself.  Back then to remedying what I don’t have in common with George Clooney. Now there’s something that, as far as I’m concerned, won’t be enough.