The Value of Kindness

On June 16, Aung San Suu Kyi delivered a long-awaited speech at the United Nation in response to the Nobel Prize award. In her speech she spelled out her philosophy of non-violence rooted in her Buddhist faith. I was particularly touched by the following part:

“Of the sweets of adversity, and let me say that these are not numerous, I have found the sweetest, the most precious of all, is the lesson I learnt on the value of kindness. Every kindness I received, small or big, convinced me that there could never be enough of it in our world.

To be kind is to respond with sensitivity and human warmth to the hopes and needs of others. Even the briefest touch of kindness can lighten a heavy heart. Kindness can change the lives of people.

When I was reading this part, my mind conjured up images of people that had been kind to me. When I was only 5 years old, a nun smilingly asked me if I would like to be named Marilyn. Though I did not understand why this name, I nodded in agreement because she was so nice to have asked! (I always thought that one’s name was given and not asked.)

When I was in my last year of high school preparing to go abroad to study, a priest offered to give me a few lessons. I thought at the time that it was about studies, little did I know that they were lessons of my lifetime. I remembered one particularly well in which he asked me what was superior – to give or to receive. When I couldn’t answer, he asked me to put out my hands as he was going to give me something. He showed me that the hands that gave would always be on top of the hands that received.

When I was in the university, I was placed in a program that was academically challenging. I felt lost and started to pity myself – it was not fair because I was an overseas student and English wasn’t my mother tongue etc. The professor in charge of the program sensed my frustration and talked with me, but instead of ‘lecturing’ he told me of his own background, that he was an orphan from Belgium who didn’t know a word of English. He was adopted by an American couple who lovingly encouraged him through life.

My first job after graduation was very difficult; nothing in the university had prepared me for the real life drama! I was blessed with a mentor who was patient and caring. He had imparted me with knowledge that I could still use these days.

I can think of hundreds, if not thousands, more examples of people being kind to me. And I am sure you can do the same. All too often it is easier to complain about the problems, what is wrong, what is not serving us right, who is bothering us etc., than to be grateful to those people who have done good deeds on us.

Perhaps I should end this blog with Aung San Suu Kyi’s speech:

“Ultimately our aim should be to create a world free from displaced, the homeless and hopeless, a world of which each and every corner is a true sanctuary where the inhabitants will have the freedom and the capacity to live in peace. Every thought, every word, and every action that adds to the positive and wholesome is a contribution to peace. Each and every one of us is capable of making such a contribution. “

P.S. The mission of ikindof.com business is to have a foundation to help those in need. When we were setting up the companies, we were given a list of names to choose from. In the end, we established the two companies with the names Good Kind and Real Kind. At that time, it was not our deliberation to have the word ‘kind’ in our company names. In hindsight, we weren’t even aware of the symbolic meaning of ‘kind’. Augan San Suu Kyi’s speech had further inspired me to establish the foundation for the needy. Is this co-incidence or synchronicity?