Spirituality & The City
An act of kindness that took your breath away…
Our Spirituality in the City series celebrates the moments of connection and transformation that can happen in the most unexpected places. This time, we explore how simple acts of kindness can be enough to restore faith in moments when it’s dwindling.
Farzana Maudarbaccus
Ireland has been my home for the last 15 years and I feel pretty settled here. However, on days that have big meaning for me, like Christmas or my birthday, I miss my family who still live in my home country, unless I am visiting, which means I am close to them. My own family here is my little cocoon but I still feel a pinch on those festive/special days and thank goodness for video calls.
This year, for my birthday, one of my friends decided to pay me a visit and brought me a card and flowers. And it brought me to tears. And here’s why: It was the thought behind it and her telling me she knew I did not have someone close who could drop by with a cake or something. It was the fact that I knew her days are full with work and looking after her two children. It was the fact that she carved out time to get me something and drive down to my place to give me a hug. It meant so much and I am so grateful to her for all her love and for being so thoughtful.
Gargi Pareek
‘I have a divine self’…hmm. Is ‘self’ the right noun, is ‘have’ the right verb? As I landed in Ireland alone. Standing in the biting Dublin wind with three heavy bags, I felt the crushing weight of homesickness. At the air coach ticket counter, I asked the man for a ticket to Sandyford. He peered at my luggage and said, “You can’t take three bags on the bus; you have to pay an extra 10 euros in that case.” I gulped. What should I do now? I had little cash, just enough for two months’ rent and groceries. After a few seconds, miraculously, the clerk whispered, “It’s alright, go.” Lost in a blur of tears, I asked an Asian girl standing in front of me in the queue for help. We sat next to each other on the bus, and for self-satisfaction, I asked her whether she was sure I had boarded the right bus. To this, she insisted on verifying with the driver who was then driving the bus. I asked the driver, to which he shouted, “Didn’t you hear me back at the airport! This bus is going to the city centre, not Sandyford…”. I got off at the next station, and surprisingly, she got off too. She did not abandon me. The right bus finally came, but the driver said, “I have no space in the luggage compartment. If you can make some, go ahead.” I struggled alone to shove my heavy bags into a cramped compartment. Bitterly, I thought, “Why am I here…If it were India, hundreds of people would have come to help me.” After squeezing the bags, I thanked the girl with tears in my eyes and stepped onto the bus, choosing a window seat. I saw her still standing there, watching me as if making sure I was settled. When the bus pulled away, I saw her vanish into the crowd. I felt a profound longing. I was certain she was someone “He” sent to help me.
Niall
I remember when I was living on London about 10 years ago. I was really struggling living in the city and struggling mentally in myself. My boss at the time said ‘We value you, we want you here. Take a month off, we’ll keep your job for you. Go and do what you need to do and come back when you’re ready.’
It was such a big thing at the time because I felt like someone really had my back and valued me and who I was and also recognised that I was struggling and didn’t just let me go.
His name was Peter and he completely changed how I thought about leadership and how we can impact people’s lives as leaders and managers.
Brona Malone
May 2020. Lockdown is well under way. A close friend is undergoing chemo for breast cancer. I discover a lump on my breast and my mind immediately jumps to fear and worry. I’m alone, it’s Sunday. I can look into getting it checked tomorrow, but I’m not going to sit in fear and worry in the interim, waiting for someone else and something outside of me to tell me everything is ok.
When life happens, we all lean on something. For me, I lean on a strength beyond my own, call it God, Higher Power, Source, Divine Intelligence. I close my eyes and sit into stillness, asking to know and feel the truth of this situation. Immediately, I feel relief. All is well and good.
Later, I’m sitting on a blanket in a crowded park. Out of nowhere, the cutest little 3-year-old girl walks up to me. Very matter of fact and with absolute clarity, she hands me a feather: ‘This is for you’.
Wide eyed and stunned, I watch this little Queen strut on.
Staring at the feather, once again I’m lifted. The innocence of this little being, a vehicle of the Divine. Love overcomes fear.
Joseph Beattie
What is kindness? I think kindness is giving without counting the cost. A few years ago, I was working in Dublin city centre and was walking down Wicklow street. I passed a young Dublin guy sitting on the ground begging with a coffee cup in his hand looking for change, he looked like an able bodied person so I stopped and asked him why he didn’t have a job instead of begging. He told me he was homeless and couldn’t get a job because he didn’t have an address. I felt sad that this young Irish lad was in the situation his was in. I impulsively went back down Wicklow street and went into a music shop that sold instruments. I bought a tin whistle with an Irish song book on how to play the tin whistle. I walked back down to the guy and gave him the instrument, he looked at me confused and I told him that people would appreciate him busking more than begging and he would likely make more change in his cup while all he had to do was learn the first song in the attached music book which was The Fields of Athenry. He was still a bit confused looking as I went on my way. As I was going back up Wicklow Street after getting my coffee, I could see him trying to play the tin whistle. It made my day.. he was there again the next day playing and people were putting coins in his cup for being a troubadour (busker) and not begging. I met the guy a few years later and he told me he had a flat and now plays with a trad music band. There were tears in my eyes. KINDNESS can change a life.
The Power of Kindness
Each story reminds us that the effects of kindness travel far beyond what we can perceive, planting seeds of hope, joy, or inspiration that may sprout in ways we never expected.
Kindness IS the new currency. Pay it forward. And watch the people and places around you transform.
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