Thank you for being kind

Good morning,

2 days ago I was invited by the Ethekweni Municipality (DBN and surrounding areas) for a launch event of what is called One Book One City. One Book One city is a fantastic initiative by the Parks and Recreation department to bring together people to read, write and have a voice. Each month a new book will be discussed and debated and analyzed.  This really is the best thing since sliced bread! This in itself will make such a powerful positive impact in this country.

Anyways…the highlight of the launch event was a quiz based on Madibas book, Long Walk to Freedom. The people who were quizzed were a few local celebs, including someone from Generations, Vivian Reddy and of course Logie Naidoo. I was invited as a judge – to make sure the answers given were correct. I was privileged to be one of three wonderful judges/authors.

There was a lot of fun and laughter…and at the end one of the participants of the quiz came up to us judges and said, “Thank you for being kind to me.”

As you know by now, I am always aware of, and pay attention to everything that happens in my life. There’s a message in every small thing – If you take the time to look. I got thinking of what this person said. How strange is it to have someone say to you “Thank you for being KIND to me.”

We just laughed. But in my head I was thinking, “Well how else were we supposed to be to you?” It then dawned on me that what he just said was a reflection of what’s happening out in the world. Where being kind to someone was so rare, that people actually need to say thank you for it.  My heart did sink for a moment. But only for a moment…because I know that I am kind as much as I can possibly be. I don’t know abt the rest of the world, but I can only be responsible for my own actions and you can only be responsible for yours. You can’t change the world and you never will. But you can be the difference that inspires others to do so as well.

Never for moment think you aren’t being watched. You may fool yourself and hide from yourself, but you can’t fool or hide the world. Everyone is watching. And they are watching your good deeds and your bad deeds. That means you are either inspiring them to be more or demotivating them to be less.

My message today is really simple.
Be kind.

When someone wants to cross lanes in traffic. Be kind.
When someone speaks to you over the phone and might be rude. Be kind.
When you see someone hungry and have no money for food. Be kind.
When your best friend needs someone to talk to. Be kind.
When you keep on failing at something, and you almost want give up, then even to yourself. Be kind.
When some is talking to you in person and you chatting on your phone. Put it away. Be kind.

Being kind is doing simple things that show you care. Being kind is about Being human.

Whatever you do today…Be kind.

My name is Hitesh, and I thank you for being kind.

Love,
H