Random Acts of Kindness

I am the receiver of many random acts of kindness. Random acts of kindness makes me feel good, gives me hope that this world doesn't suck so much, makes me look forward to a new day with new surprises.

The wonderful thing about random acts of kindness (ROK) is that it can come at anytime, anyday, anywhere. My last experience with a ROK was a few days ago at a craft exposition where I was volunteering for a few hours. A person, who I knew by reputation for his work with the local indigenous community and his no-nonsense approach, bought me a local handicraft, after knowing me for only a couple of hours. We hadn't spoken much in that short time, I knew he didn't "fancy" me, nor were we ever likely to meet again. Yet, he knew I liked this beautiful object, knew I hadn't had enough money to pay for it at the time, but had insisted I "take it because I've learnt that you should always buy something you like immediately or else it will be gone". The memory of that ROK still makes me smile.

This ROK was especially significant as it was my first in Malaysia. I've experienced many outside of the country. I have received numerous invitations to eat and sleep at strangers' homes (Central/South Asia and the Middle East), I've even had a stranger walk with me for miles just to be sure I got on the right bus (Beirut), I've had a stranger search the whole city for a safe and cheap hotel for me to stay in (also Beirut), and so many other ROK I now regret I have forgotten.

I am not sure whether I have practised ROK. Perhaps I have. I certainly advocate it. It just simply makes the world a nicer place to live in.