Stories of Kindness from Around the World

Perhaps you'll think this a strange tale. It's true, though I could not believe it at first. Powerful truth is sometimes in small things. No act of kindness and understanding goes unnoticed. It will all come back to you, maybe even tenfold.

Many years ago I hated mosquitoes with a passion. I reveled at crushing those little blood suckers. One day  I bragged to my wife, ahead on the trail, that I had just killed 10 of the little swarmer's with one slap. She told me that few bothered her. They regularly didn't.

Puzzled about this, I asked, "Why me?" She turned to face me and said, "Because you hate them!" I laughed, "So tell me something I don't know." She explained that the little critters were simply returning my hatred in kind. That stopped me dead in my tracks. Could that be? She suggested that if I sent them loving thoughts they would respond accordingly.

I took her up on her challenge. I am a scientist. It was hard to buy. It took me several days to even accept the idea that both mosquitoes and I deserved to live on the same planet. Then after a week or two I was ashamed of my killing. I frequently apologized mentally to all their kind. Oddly, I began to appreciate their uniqueness and study them closely. To my amazement, when I asked them individually or in mass not to land on me, they took off. 
The master teacher, my wife, was amazed that her student had surpassed her own occasional swatting of them. I shared the extra step with her that she had not taken. Together we amazed other hikers covered with Deet, yet still getting swarmed. They would ask, "What do you have on that none are bothering you?" We would say, "We don't wear any repellant."

Would you say to a stranger that you must learn to love them? But you are no strangers to love and kindness, so I have shared this truth, as one you may already know. And I ask you to consider this... it isn't only about our fellow man. All life is sacred. No act of kindness is too small. Nor will it go unreturned.