“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.”
Aesop
Today I learned that a genuinely kind man passed away in April.
Years ago, during one of the darkest periods of my own life, I helped him after he rescued a cat. Together we found her a forever home. He loved animals deeply, and I learned today that he even left a gift in his will to the Cat Protection Society. Two beloved cats now need new homes because he is no longer here.
His passing has stayed with me all day.
There are some things in life that are beyond our control. Serious illness, cancer, and many medical conditions remind us of that. We fight with every treatment available, we pray, we hope, and we love. But ultimately, not every outcome is ours to determine.
What is within our control is how we treat one another.
Whether we choose to make a phone call.
Whether we check in.
Whether we speak up when we see someone being harmed.
Whether we use our position to protect someone instead of remaining silent.
Over the past several years, while enduring institutional persecution, I’ve seen something that has profoundly changed my view of society. I have seen extraordinary compassion from a few people. But I have also witnessed something equally powerful: the inhumanity that can exist when people decide that someone else’s suffering is not their problem.
Silence is sometimes presented as neutrality.
It rarely feels neutral to the person living through the harm.
There is a difference between suffering that no human being can prevent and suffering that continues because people choose not to act.
Those choices matter.
Today I’m remembering a good man who showed kindness. It reflected who he was.
His life has reminded me that the measure of our humanity is not found in the words we post about compassion. It is found in what we do when someone in front of us is struggling and we have the ability to help.
Please don’t underestimate the impact of a phone call, a conversation, a simple act of courage, or a refusal to look away.
Sometimes those small choices can change the course of another person’s life.
Rest in peace, my dear friend. Thank you for reminding me what kindness looks like.
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