Just Be Nice

I was at a wedding, after having talked to someone's mother for an interminable time, & I explained to my wife that I had just performed my daily act of kindness. She looked at me quizzically, so I had to back-track & mention Edward de Bono (at which her eyes usually roll).

In this case, however, it's worth the diversion. De Bono may have been Maltese, but he is most likely an atheist. However, he did appreciate & support moral & ethical codes that may have been fostered within a religious context. He once proposed a religion (H+) based almost entirely on the doing of good deeds, &, as was often his idea with regards clubs, sharing the experience with friends to talk it over, expand the network, & make the world a better place.

My wife loved the idea!
She especially liked the concept of exposing our daughter to an environment where helping others is encouraged for its own sake, not just because we're good Catholics, or whatever.

What has this to do with travelling, I hear you ask ... except that I have to use my imagination & then someone might point out that hearing voices is definitely a sign that you're taking your religion too seriously ... but I digress.

I was about to get on the train this afternoon, standing slightly to the side of the door, as I do, waiting for people to get off, but making it clear that I'll jump on board as soon as it's clear, when I saw a pram struggle its way over the lip of the train door.
I gave it a polite moment to prove its dexterity, then simply assisted it across the gap to the firmer grounding of the platform - all without looking up to see who was pushing, or even whether there was a child in the pram. It could have been a homeless person, for all I care.

As I put the wheels down & the pram got under way, I heard a man say "Thanks for that, brother!" & a gentle slap on the back as he wheeled past. I could barely manage to get out my "No probs" before he'd gone & I was upright & stepping onto the train myself.

Nothing unusual, you might say - except that I wasn't the only one getting on the train. There were, as always, loiterers standing on the platform in front of the door, working out which way they should dart to get out of people's way. Not one of them made a move towards the pram, though.

This is where we are as a society, I fear. It takes someone with no religious conviction to point out to those of us who frequently attend church that there is a code of conduct that goes along with our beliefs, & perhaps it's time we had a good hard look at ourselves to see if there is some moral fibre that we can stretch out to help others on a daily basis.

Don't do it because you have to, but because you want to, because it gives you a little sense of private achievement, & because someone will smile back at you in gratitude ... eventually.