Stories of Kindness from Around the World

When I was about four or five, I was walking down the street with my Mum one day.  Ahead of us, an elderly lady was walking slowly when suddenly she tripped and fell off the curb and couldn't get up.

My Mum made a call to an ambulance to come help her and we waited with the old lady until they arrived. She thanked my Mum and we continued walking. I turned to my mother and asked, "Will that lady be on the news? Will you be on the news for helping her?"

My Mum explained to me that people fell down a lot and that it wasn't the sort of thing that appears on the news. She also explained that no one from the news was there to see it. She asked me if I understood, and I said yes, but I didn't!

That night I remeber watching the news and all I saw was a man-in-a-suit talking.  I asked my Mum,"Is this man more important than the old lady who fell down? Why is he on the news and she isn't?"  Mum tried to explain that the man-in-the-suit had important things to say and that's why he was on the news.  But once again, I didn't understand.  I only knew that my Mum had *done* something important to help the lady.  The man-in-the-suit was just talking about stuff.  He was boring and he didn't seem to be helping anyone. So why were we listening to him and not hearing about the afternoon's events?

My Mum told me since, that my childish questions had reminded her of two things. The first was that we don't always hear about the good things in the world. The small, un-named acts of love and selflessness. They don't make the news, and no one is usually there to see them. The other thing was that the old woman was just as important as the man-in-the-suit who we saw every night. That everyone is as important as everyone else, but it doesn't turn out that way in what we see and hear. And how can you explain that to a child?

We hear so much about the pain and terror in the world. The little acts of love are usually overlooked by many people. That's why I love sites like this one that remind us of the love that is still in the world.