[ABOVE AVERAGE]
[Some Thoughts on Kindness] [GEORGE SAUNDERS]
>> I´d say, as a goal in life, you could do worse than be kinder.
In 7th grade, this new kid joined our class.
In the interest of confidentiality, her name will be Ellen.
Ellen was small, shy and she wore these blue cats eye glasses
that, at the time, only old ladies wore.
When nervous, which was pretty much always,
she had a habit of taking a strand of her hair into her mouth,
and chewing on it.
So, she came to our school and our neighborhood,
and was mostly ignored. Occasionally teased.
"Your hair taste good?" That sort of thing.
I could see this hurt her.
I can still remember the way she looked, after such an insult.
Eyes cast down, a little gut-kicked, as if
having just been reminded of her place she was trying,
as much as possible, to dissapear.
After a while, she´d drift away.
Hair strands still in her mouth.
Sometimes I´d see her hanging around her front yard alone,
as if she was afraid to leave it.
And then, she moved.
And that was it. One day she was there, the next day she wasn´t.
End of story. [FIN]
Now, why do I regret that?
Why, 42 years later, am I still thinking about it?
Relative to most of the other kids, I was actually pretty nice to her.
I never said an unkind word to her, in fact I sometimes even mildly defended her.
But still, it bothers me.
What I regret most in my life, are failures of kindness.
Those moments when another human being, was there, in front of me,
suffering, and I responded, sensibly,
reservedly, mildly.
Or, to look at it from the other end of the telescope,
who in your life, do you remember most fondly?
With the most undeniable feelings of warmth?
Those who were kindest to you, I bet.
But kindness, it turns out, is hard.
It starts out all rainbows and puppy dogs, and expands to include
well, everything.
[Adapted from the graduation speech given by George Saunders at Syracuse University, May 2013]
[Give the gift of kindness]