Stories of Kindness from Around the World

I wanted to have tea with Nirad, in a tea break during an Inclusion retreat. Nirad is a person with disability (a paraplegic on wheelchair).

I was holding the cup so he could sip tea. I was being careful and poured small quantity in his mouth. I enjoyed concentrating on each moment & listening deeply to do a good job with serving tea.

We were immediately connected and be-friended during this time. Two other retreat participants joined and we were four people talking about variety of topics which ranged from 'how Nirad progressed his education with grit' to cool ones like 'how he maintains his weight?' :) etc.

These conversations, brought smiles and it seemed we all knew each other from long time. In subtle ways, we quietly felt the connection.
When we finished tea, I felt like tieing, a wrist thread for Nirav. This had a symbol 'WE' on one side and 'ME' on turning it up. This beautiful gift was received from MBL team. I told Nirad, 'my youngest brother is approximately your age', and he gave a sweet, calm smile.





I felt deep content during this tea-time. I had actually lived those moments, being present, compassionate & friendly. It was overwhelming & an experience of subtle joy. Later, during the retreat, each time myself and Nirad happened to greet or talk, we smiled naturally and felt connected.

It's sad that we don't connect deeply, even with our family or friends. We are just too busy running after things, going nowhere. We don't seem to concentrate or care enough for people, during our conversations. I had these valuable realisations, later.

On the last day of the retreat, I told Nirad, 'this was the best tea-time i ever had in my life'. He gave a warm, unforgettable smile.