In the news nowadays, the bizarre and the sensational seem to grab the headlines. Killings seem to dominate most of the columns in the tabloids or video clips that are beamed to our homes. And yet through it all, good is being carried out daily, albeit unnoticed.
Over some time ago, I began to record some of the unsolicited deeds of ordinary people who took it upon themselves to sprinkle some sunshine among their fellow man against the shadow and doom of wars and terror. Many were not aware of my interest in their activity, and many remain anonymous. But each played a part for that brief moment to rise above their domain of concern and spread a little cheer.
In one incident, I recollect waiting impatiently behind a vehicle at the pick-up window of a McDonald’s outlet. It must have taken the staff over 15 minutes to get the order ready, and by then my impatience was peaking. Once the orders were being delivered, I was surprised to see the man get out of the car and point to a field near the outlet. There were some underprivileged kids playing soccer barefoot, totally unaware of what was taking place. The McDonald’s man then packed over a dozen Happy Meals and balancing them gingerly on two trays walked over to the kids and started distributing them to the eager children. By then the vehicle in front of me had driven away, leaving me a bit shamed for my self-concern.
An American lady who sadly departed this world would spend many an hour at the local orphanages providing music lessons to the little orphans. She could have spent her time in many other activities, and yet chose this as her calling. On weekends she would bundle up a few of them in her van and take them to the amusement park and for pizza afterward.
A group of office workers at the national airline pitched in monthly to send a destitute young man to Jordan for his Civil Aeronautics certification course, a tenure that would obligate them for 20 months. Each of these individuals was touched by the plight and energy of that young man, and committed themselves to the task without seeking compensation at a later date.
A civil servant noticed that the construction of a house adjoining his property had stopped for a few months. The owner of the unfinished dwelling would drive by weekly to look at his place, but there was no activity. When the neighbor inquired, he found out that the work had stopped because the man ran out of money. His wife had suffered a serious accident and the funds earmarked for finishing the construction were quickly eaten up. The neighbor, though not financially affluent then, volunteered to help out each month until the house was finally finished.
An old Indian man was hitching for a ride to the downtown bus station. He wanted to go to Makkah to perform Umrah, but his funds were very meager. The person who passed by and picked him up then drove the 80 kilometers to Makkah to ease the elderly gentleman’s concern. Not only that, but he left the man with a few hundred riyals to help him during his time there.
There are many thousand such individuals who daily perform acts of kindness without expecting anything in return. Some have taken it as a calling to help out the needy within society. They do it time and again in many different ways, year after year and without drawing attention to themselves. And then there are those who on the spur of a moment are triggered into a charitable deed.
To such good people everywhere, we offer our thanks and gratitude. For it is their goodness above everything else that will be long remembered after they are gone.
