One would think there is a cost extracted for kindness. Random acts of kindness are so rare that they astonish. One never expects kindness anymore than one bothers to seek the legendary four leaf clover.

We live in a world that requires us to have street smarts, built in suspicion and occasionally, outright hostility. We all feel driven and pressed for time and anything in our path, is an annoying obstruction. Courtesy and manners are terms in history books and novels.

What a lift to the spirit it is to have someone give an intentional break in traffic, hold open a door, pay for one’s coffee, or, and somehow this is the greater surprise, to smile and say hello. Just for fun, start a conversation in a slow line up and include all who would welcome the inclusion, especially if the mood is humorous and light. There are a lot of lonely souls in desperate need to just be seen, to take home your smile, as a warm memory.

Human behavior is a great mirror. The more times we are disrespected, disregarded or dismissed, something in us disappears. The flip side is an act of simple human kindness, a brief encounter with a generosity of spirit that is like the proverbial pebble dropped in a pond, meant to ripple outward into the ether of action.

We have come to not expect kindness which is all the more reason to practise it as you may never know how your conduct will effect others removed from one small act.