A Dose Of Kindness

I want to begin by sharing the wisdom of Wayne Dyer, author and motivational speaker who said that any person who is a recipient of an act of kindness has their serotonin levels elevated and their immune system strengthened. Any person who is the giver of an act of kindness also experiences equal elevated serotonin levels and a strengthening of the immune system. Even an observer of an act of kindness receives increased serotonin within them. It’s like a dose of antidepressant.

My husband Richard and I are nearly halfway through our 80s. As time passes, it seems there are some things we are no longer able to do or do as easily. No more taking two steps at a time when visiting my friend on the second floor, no more quick dance moves, no more late nights, and especially no more heavy lifting.

Recently, we traded in our older Subaru and Toyota truck for a newer Subaru. We have always had a truck, which has been a necessity where we live. The truck was used for many projects, including hauling supplies and refuse back and forth. So here we are, no truck! Our solution: buy a trailer to replace truck tasks. We had been unable to find a trailer that met our needs anywhere close by.

Then Richard discovered and bought a trailer kit that would be delivered to our home and he could assemble on his own. All was moving along very easily and the trailer was coming together quite nicely. Then came a time when the trailer had to be flipped right side up to complete its construction. Needless to say, flipping a 400-pound trailer was not something we could do on our own. Next step, call our neighbor friends down the road and see if they knew of anyone who might be able to help us. In their usual congenial manner, they said they would check with others and see what could be done. The next day, we received a call from them saying there would be help coming and they would be over somewhere around 5:30 to flip the trailer. And indeed, they were at our house at 5:30, a wonderful crew of people, some we knew and some we didn’t. They chatted a bit and then within minutes flipped the trailer upright and that was that. I stepped outside for a few minutes to say hello to these wonderful people and thanked them for their kindness.

This kindness, this beautiful neighborly gesture, brought tears to our eyes. Perhaps they didn’t realize what a marvelous gift they had given us. THIS IS THE BEAUTY OF LIFE. This unquestioning giving to another without hesitation. No discussion about whether we were Buddhist, Catholic, Jewish, color of skin, political leaning—simply and unapologetically pure presence of being, giving, and receiving, with a few hugs thrown in.
This experience renewed in me a new appreciation of gratefulness. For without the kindness of our neighbors, it could have been a real dilemma for us to get our trailer complete and ready for use.

It’s the simple gestures in life that can sometimes be the most profound gift that stirs the love in our hearts: Caring for one another in such a way as to feel the reality that we are all one family. As Ram Dass said, “Walking each other home.”