On Kindness 2

I live in rather an unpleasant neighbourhood. It is called Downtown South, or the Downtown Eastside's slightly prettier sister.  I used to go out for long walks first thing in the morning, often before sunrise, every single day.  That all changed after I'd been living here for a few years.  As homelessness and open begging became more visible in my neighbourhood I found it increasingly difficult being confronted with all this human misery before I'd even had breakfast or a cup of coffee.  But that wasn't the worst part.  Everyone it seemed now owned a dog or had turned into a fitness freak.  Yaletown, or Whistler By The Sea as I like to call it, is right next to my rapidly gentrifying but still squalid neighbourhood.  Where the yuppies go.  Where the yuppies live.  Where the narcissistic yuppies totally fixated on staying young and beautiful and living forever like to go jogging on the otherwise beautiful seawall.  Where the yuppies began to go jogging before sunrise, often with their little or big dogs too, completely altering the atmosphere and absolutely destroying the stillness and tranquility I once associated with early morning walks by the water.  Now, I have nothing against dogs nor against people who own them.  I am less than comfortable with adding so many dogs to an already densely populated area but that is for another blogpost.  And all these lonely and unloved people who can`t seem to do well with other human beings do need something that will love them unconditionally.

I am trying to go out walking again in the early morning, on occasion, because I really miss seeing the sunrise.  I have just done this today, the second time in as many weeks.  I don't feel quite as stressed as I did the first time.  Maybe because I started a bit later and made sure I'd had something to eat first.  Maybe also because I found myself silently praying for the people around me, the street people and the young and older wage slaves rushing off to their daily penance.  But I am making the conscious choice to try to see the others around me, who often annoy me, as victims, as people who live under tonnes of stress, who might right now be facing a terminal illness, bankruptcy, a divorce, a betrayal by a loved one, getting fired from their job, underemployment and poverty, mental health crisis, addictions, chronic loneliness...

The list goes on, but it also puts emphasis on the importance of kindness.  I don`t have to go out in the morning before starting work.  I do have to be kind.

I am home now from work.  As always there have been abundant opportunities for kindness, especially on public transit.   Especially on the East and South sides of the city there are a lot of visible ethnic minorities riding the buses.  Some are students, a lot of them are elderly.  I often think of them as people who particularly need and deserve kindness because they are also particularly vulnerable.  Even with a lack of English, a kind look, a gentle tone of voice and a friendly smile can communicate reams.  Making room for people, offering seats as needed, and not getting cross if you feel your personal space being crowded are all small gestures of kindness that can speak volumes.

I think what is really important is to slow down, not get caught in the rush, and start seeing other people, to get a sense of each individual life, if only for a few seconds, and to offer a small prayer of blessing for each person you see.  I often fail in this myself as it is too easy to forget everything and everyone but for my own need to get from point a to point b as fast as possible.  But every time I slow down to get a sense of the humanity of those around me I also benefit.  I`m sure that my blood pressure even goes down a little.

I just had coffee with my Colombian friend who stood me up yesterday.  After a fuller explanation I understand the miscommunication that led to his no-show.  I also gave him one of my drawings to take back to Colombia with him.  Friends for life.  Here is a google image of the bird in the drawing: