To love is to recognise yourself in another.
— Eckhart Tolle
Henry Thoreau, the 19th century writer, naturalist and philosopher, believed that great art is not restricted to painting, music, sculpture and writing; instead still greater is the art that affects the quality of life of people.
There is an art of bringing hope to the world of despair. Thoreau makes us think of people like St. Francis of Assisi, Gandhi, Florence Nightingale and Mother Teresa — people who, through the nobility of their live and deep humanism, made an impact on their world.
There are countless people who contribute to improving others’ quality of life and whose small deeds of kindness instil courage and hope for those in anguish. “To love someone” says Fyodor Dostoevsky, “means to see him as God intended him.” There is no end to the number of such wonderful artists. There are countless obscure, good people who quietly affect the lives of those about them without even being aware they are doing it, winning no commendation, expecting none. They may say little, if anything. But the shining quality of goodness radiates from them, and where there was dark, there is now light, or the beginning of light; where there was cowardice there is courage; where there was listlessness there is love of life.
These friends or wonderful strangers we may meet at a picnic, in a lifeboat, in a hospital waiting-room — humble and unaware, they carry with them the kindness and generosity of their lives. These, according to Thoreau, are the greatest artists, for they practice the highest of the arts — the art of life itself. We all have a wonderful gift which we alone can give. It may be a heartfelt smile to people around us, our family, our colleagues — or showing just a little kindness to those who come our way.
Don’t we all want a reason for being born, and a way that is worthwhile to spend our time on this earth? There is no second chance. Now is the time. It may be kindness shown to a frustrated youth, help to a poor and hungry soul, consolation to an aggrieved man, love and affection to an orphan child, or medical aid to a serious patient. These small acts leave them refreshed, strengthened and comforted.
One of the greatest tragedies of modern man is the alienation and abandonment that haunt him. This is an ailment which no hospital can treat, no medicine can heal, no surgery can cure; neither the ancient wisdom of the East nor the modern science of the West has an answer for this. Kindness and love are not about giving away money or buying expensive gifts, although it is necessary to do these things on certain occasions. When you give of your possessions, you give little. When you give of yourself, you give all. A sympathetic ear, a smile or helping hands in times of distress are all what most people need to receive and to give.
To use the beautiful message of the United Nations high commissioner for refugees: “All the state subsidies in the world will never be able to replace the warmth of assistance rendered by one individual, one human being to another… Without the individual who offers bread to the hungry, who cares for the sick, who brings help to the refuges, all assistance is devoid of soul.”
