One Act of Kindness Not For Me

Day 127

Some people are kind without even trying. Like K. where I work. He's the type of person whom you can never imagine saying a bad word about anyone. Unlike me, who is undertaking this whole year long project to try to be more kind, K. does it effortlessly.

Yesterday when I arrived at the office, I noticed a sad little dead squirrel right outside A.'s window. OK, well I guess the squirrel wasn't sad, being dead and all, but it was a pitiful sight. A. hadn't arrived yet, but we all knew she would be heartbroken. Her compassion for animals legendary; she has been known to pick up deceased squirrels from from the side of the road in order to give them a proper burial.

While we were standing around discussing how upset A. would be and the need to call building maintenance to deal with the dearly departed, K. walked past us donning rubber gloves that are kept somewhere in the office, I suppose for circumstances such as these. He said he didn't want A. to be upset, and he went outside and helped the squirrel to it's final resting place, details beyond these not needed here. And I thought, “there's one act of kindness I'm not sorry I passed on.” Not only did I pass, I later left a bottle of hand sanitizer on his desk, with a picture of a squirrel taped to it.

But today I thought more about how incredibly nice it was of K. to do this, and how graciously he accepted the ribbing about his kindness. I wrote him a card, all kidding aside, to let him know how much his good-heated demeanor is appreciated, and that it gives us all something to aspire to.