How Does Kindness Feel?

If kindness were pain, would everyone remember it?

Image by Annelise Lords

Kindness can save lives .— Annelise Lords

It began to drizzle while I was waiting for a robot taxi after coming from the market with my heavy bags last Thursday. So, I was forced to drive with someone who went too fast and didn’t obey the road code often. None of the guys who drove safely were there. I didn’t want to get wet, so I silently prayed and boarded her taxi.

After a few minutes of driving, I was shocked. It was like she was driving under positive hypnosis. She stopped at the stop signs and obeyed all of the road codes.

My curiosity demands, “Are you ok?”

She giggled, glancing up at me through her mirror, and elaborated, “I got a $15,000 ticket for not stopping at the red and white stop sign last year.”

“Damn!” all four of us say in shock.

“Was it in rush hour?” the lady in the front seat beside her asked.

They drive faster during rush hour because they don’t have to wait to fill their cab, making many trips in a short time.

“No!” she said, stepping back, anger accompanying her as she slowed down at the stop sign. “It was 11:33 AM on March 10, 2024, on Church Street as I turned on North Street. He didn’t even look like a policeman. He was in an unmarked car, wearing a black desert Clarks booty. His blue Levi jeans were tighter than the noose around Paul Bogle’s neck when they hanged him. I don’t know how he could walk in such tight pants. His hair was dyed blond and in braids. His white T-shirt had black and brown stains on it. His gun was at his waist, and ID told me he was a cop. He looked like a thug. They were canvassing the area and saw when I broke the Road Traffic Act.”

We exchange glances, reading each other’s minds.

She remembered everything. Paying that amount of money for something simple would impact us all. She held on to that pain for over a year, which positively changed her. She will now obey all of Jamaica’s Road Traffic Acts.

A thought zipped through my head, ‘What if he was kind to her, warned her, and let her go. Would she be transformed into someone kinder? Or would she continue breaking the Traffic laws?’

What does kindness feel like when it is given and accepted?

For me, it’s a wonderful feeling that I want to repeat again and again. I hold on to and cherish it, returning it at every opportunity.

What about kindness that doesn’t transform many humans who took it into someone better?

She paid, changed, and didn’t forget, keeping that pain alive. Church and North Street are on her route, and she must drive on them daily. So, every time she is on them, the memory surfaces.

My brain is programmed to remember naughty, nice, and weird. No act of kindness I receive leaves my heart unreturned. I can’t forget the generosity I received from anyone. Your kindness makes me want to be better. Be kinder. Be thoughtful. Give love and consideration.

I know many humans who forget the thoughtfulness they received until they need more. Some don’t bother to look back.

With kindness, you don’t pay, but you get something beautiful, so why doesn’t kindness have such a powerful or positive effect on some humans?

When you receive that kindness, it’s free, and you win. So why not share it and allow it to change you positively?

What does kindness feel like to you?

If your heart could speak, what would it say?

It’s that wonderful feeling you want to nurture and grow as it positively transforms you into someone better that you want to share with the world.

Thank you for reading this piece. I hope you enjoyed it.