Kindness Counts

Chelsea and Becca at her wedding

When Chelsea was about 10, and she and her friend Becca decided to offer a class to kids through Rochester's Summer Recreation Program called "Kindness Counts." The exact content of the class escapes me now -- I must be getting old because I'm having a marked increase in my "senior moment" count. However, the name has stayed with me because I think it is so relevant.

Now stay with me -- I know this is going to sound pompous -- sometimes I think that our society is becoming increasingly less kind. Maybe it's because of the increase in the "me"- centered social media or maybe it's the decline in religion but either way, many people seem to be out for themselves.

Anne Frank

However,  each time I attempt an outing, this theory gets shot in the foot. When I return from the grocery store or Bible study or coffee with friends or even shopping at Target (one of my guilty pleasures), I am convinced that, like Anne Frank so memorably said, "...in spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart.”

Why do I feel this way, especially when one of my many wise theories is being debunked? Maybe it has something to do with the fact that at the grocery store, shoppers (usually not even the paid clerks but instead people running to the store on their lunch hour) will invariably ask me if I need for them to snag a product out of my reach. Usually I'm just sitting in my wheelchair staring lustfully at some fabric softener placed on a high shelf. These people don't have to help me but they usually do. And I guess it is just out of being kind.

Bible study attendees

The women in my Bible study are the same. Of course, you would expect women in a Bible study to be helpful, but I don't take it for granted. These women are facing challenges in their personal life like bad bosses, unruly children and abusive husbands. But they never talk down to me and they are always willing to hold the bathroom door for me or get me a cup of coffee. Plus I am treated with respect, just like a normal person would. Wow!

The group of women that I have coffee with each week are just as delightful. (Of course, the fact that I'm having coffee pretty much equates to happiness for me.) These women are thoughtful -- moving a chair out of the way so I can join them at the table, asking me about my day, and helping me with my coat without me having to ask. It's in their nature to be kind and I look forward to this pleasant time every week.

During the 60s, Glen Campbell recorded a song called "Try A Little Kindness." The lyrics leave something to be desired but the fact that Glen Campbell was extremely attractive helps. Here is the chorus of the song:

"You got to try a little kindness, yes show a little kindness
Just shine your light for everyone to see
And if you try a little kindness then you'll overlook the
blindness
Of narrow-minded people on the narrow-minded streets"

Sappy? Yes. True? Yes.

I realize not everyone is religious and not everyone is a Christian, but I believe it pleases God when we help one another. Jesus said:

"...‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me.'"  Matthew 25:40

When people are kind to me it makes me want to be kind as well. What kind of world would it be if we were all kind to each other? Glen Campbell might have been on the right track.