YOU DO NOT OWE ANYONE ANYTHING.
That’s a lie, a big fat lie.
You do not owe anyone anything.
You do not owe anyone anything.
You do not owe anyone anything.
We hear that often it sounds like an anthem ready to roll off our tongue faster than a frightened zebra chased by a cheetah. It is like a cocoon that shields us from our responsibilities as humans, as individuals. Not as professionals or business people but as human beings! And we take hold of it tightly, never letting go because the average human being would shift responsibility rather than bear responsibility on their shoulders.
How about I say; You owe people something. You owe your neighbour, your friend, your classmate, your colleague- Love. You owe the elderly woman you saw at the bus stop struggling to carry her overweight suitcase- Assistance. The suited man pacing frantically because his bag was hijacked by someone on a speeding motorbike- Kindness. The little child crying loudly at the hospital- Comfort. The hunger-stricken dog that seeks shelter under a bridge at your workplace- Food and shelter.
You owe them love, kindness, courtesy, generosity, warmness, hospitality and plain ol’ humanity. Man is a social being; this means that man gets his sense of belonging and acceptance from his ability to associate effectively with humans. Hence there is a screaming necessity to stretch out our arms in love to others. Even daily.
It comes naturally to show love and concern to the ones we love; our family and our friends. However, the challenge is showing love to the people we do not know.
People who cross our path once never to be seen again, like how we feel the joy of sweet sixteen once. People who are obviously without the capacity to repay our kindness. People who our mind subconsciously label as below our class. Whatever class means. People who we do not share laugher with over dinner after a hectic day. The people we do not know!
An artist went out into the open to paint, probably to get inspiration from nature: the swaying trees, the singing birds, the soft wind blowing on his face and the hills sitting majestically where they belong. He saw a homeless man in the corner then he began to sway his brushes on his canvas.
As time passed by, the homeless man asked him what he was painting. He replied; I am painting you. The homeless man was surprised he stood up eagerly to stare at his image on the canvas.
Looking at his image, he asked the artist; is that me?! The artist replied in the affirmative, and the man went off happily, proclaiming that he would become the “Him” he saw on the artist’s canvas. How did the artist paint him that compelled him to choose a painting over his present self?
The artist painted the image of a successful well-dressed happy man, giving the homeless man a new and polished version of himself to see. The artist helped liberate the mind of the homeless man from years of shackles. Now imagine if that artist painted the man exactly how he saw him: In tattered clothes and unshaven beards, with a sullen look soaked in his misery. This image is enough to deepen that man into his self-pity and victimization.
Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile. Albert Einstein
Numerous real-life stories exist to prove that certain times what a person needs is love, a simple kind gesture to stall them from executing their suicidal plan, from sinking into the pit of loneliness and depression. Be that person who gives people light, who gives people a reason to smile, a reason to want to be alive, a reason to feel seen and belonged. Be that light that pulls them out of misery rather than deeper into it. 99.9% of the time, doing nothing is as useless as taking out an umbrella on a dry day.
Remember to love today. Remember to carry kindness and warmness every time you step out of your home into the streets. Remember to be kind to the waiter or the janitor. They may have left their sick child at home to make ends meet. Remember to be courteous to the young girl. She may be healing from a devastating heartbreak. Remember to be warm towards your colleague. He may have lost a loved one. Remember to check on your boss if she has been absent for days. She may be in the hospital fighting for her life.
You owe humanity: kindness and compassion and sincerity and trust. As well as your helping hand, reassuring words and your charming smile. You owe humanity-You!
