I watched a commercial the other day which really touched me. At the time I really didn’t think much about it, however weeks have passed and it’s still renting space in my head. This for me is a sure sign I need to put my thoughts, into words. So here I go.
Three little boys were playing with a go cart. Their ages varied, but to my best guess I’d say they were between the ages of 9 to 12. The biggest boy was sitting in the go cart strapping on a helmet, with the other two boys jumping enthusiastically around him.
The scene was set. The boys said a few words as the oldest prepared to go barreling down the hill in the go cart. There was a moment of squabble about whose turn it would be next. A brief, unheard conversation ensued, (I was on the treadmill with my ear buds in) and the boys came to an agreement, all smiles.
The oldest boy, arms draped on each side of the cart and ready to push off, stopped suddenly a frown appearing on his brow. The two younger boys stopped bouncing, the smiles sliding from their faces.
For a moment you’re left wondering what they saw. Then the camera pans to the left. A mother, pushing her young son in a wheel chair appears. The boy in the wheelchair looks at the go cart longingly. The mother places a hand on top of her young sons head, a tear in her eye and speaks softly to him.
The oldest boy in the wheelchair, still frowning gets up.
My steps slow on the treadmill in automatic response.
The oldest boy, with the two younger ones at his side, walked over to the wheelchair. All the boys are looking very serious.
Time slows as it does when you’re preparing for something awful to happen.
The three boys bend and I’m surprised.
I realize I’ve prepared myself to see the boy in the wheelchair being bullied. After all, he was going to be in the way, and if I’m honest I guess that’s what I’ve come to expect.
With a muttered no, no, no, I watch not quite believing my eyes, as the three boys all working together, lift the boy from his wheelchair and place him in the cart.
The smile on the child’s face still brings a tear to my eye.
Human Kindness.
I wasn’t expecting it. As a matter of fact I was expecting the opposite.
Why?
Have we/me grown so callus as a society we’ve/I’ve come to expect this type of behavior?
I really can’t explain my emotional reaction to this commercial.
When I go shopping I’ve come to expect a frenzied parking lot, waiting at a traffic light I press heavily on the gas pedal, lurching into action the second the light turns green, before racing down the road only to be stopped by the next red traffic light. I’ve learned if you aren’t quick enough it earns you a honk and I can play the game with the best of them.
We wear blinders trying not to bump into one another so focused are we on getting what we need. A sales event can be like taking your life into your hands, as the frenzied snatch and grab is played out before our very eyes. Courtesy in super markets seems to be a thing of the past. You know, when a person only has a couple of items and you have a full cart, but they are standing behind you. As long as you don’t look you can pretend you don’t see.
And it becomes easier over time.
Not to give a shit.
It becomes ‘the norm’ and I for one, never noticed. Not really.
Not until I’m bawling on my treadmill, watching something so beautiful I just can’t help it.
Now maybe if this was something we saw every day, it wouldn’t have had quite the same impact.
But we don’t. See it every day that is.
As a society are we losing the very thing which makes us human?
Empathy, and human kindness.
For me it was a wakeup call. To do better. To be better.
To educate our children and our children’s, children.
For a society without empathy and human kindness, is a doomed race indeed.
So the next time you’re out shopping, offer up your spot to someone who needs it more. Show your child what courtesy looks like, rather than just talking about it. Hold a door open. Let someone have your parking space. Slow down on the roads. Require more of yourself and maybe others will too.
Small random acts of kindness go a long way in restoring faith in humanity.
That commercial touched me, and I’ve paid it forward.
Will you?