Kindness

Today, July 30th, the 13th anniversary of my daddy's death,  is a day to remember and celebrate kindness.

Having moved a bed and a table last night, I woke up with a stiff neck and back and decided to enjoy a gift certificate for a massage at Spa D'Santi.   The therapist, a young man named Nick, exuded kindness.

"What were you doing moving furniture by yourself?" he asked.

I told him it was just one of my hobbies, moving stuff around;  that I lived alone and there was no one to ask for help at midnight.

"I wish you had known me before today.  You could have called me and I'd have moved it for you!"

Turns out, Nick started massaging when he was nine.  "My dad worked three jobs to support all of us," he said, " He'd always come home with his feet and legs hurting, so one night I just said, 'Let me rub your feet' and after that, after he felt so much better, I started doing that for both my parents.  They told me I'd be a great massage therapist."

As he talked a little about his family, I could tell that kindness could have been their family crest.  He has three siblings and two parents "married a really long time" (26 years)--and I could tell by the way he talked about them that they were very close, hard-working, and supportive of each other.

"Whenever my big brother saw someone drinking or smoking he would say, 'If I ever catch you doing that, I'm going to beat you up.'  He never did beat anybody up, but I could tell how much he wanted me to be good, and I always try to be a good person."

"Well, Miss Independence, " he said as I was leaving, "If you ever need to move anything, you call me. I mean it."

As I was driving home, I thought about kind men.  I thought about the legacy of kindness Lloyd left his grandchildren that ripples down to his great-grandchildren, most of whom he never got to meet.  I remembered my friend Gary who gave kindness to every person and animal he ever met. And Mike--who goes out of his way to help anyone in need.

The Dalai Lama said, "My religion is kindness."

When the news is filled with stories of meanness, shootings, and politicians verbally shredding each other apart, I want more news of kindness. I want my little newspaper here to report on some of the abundant kindness that is all around us.