I’ve been thinking about this for some time now. Does kindness really cost us money? We can be kind without incurring any expense, right?
Source: personal gallery
Well, let me tell you a story. It’s about two men. They live nearby, and their dynamics are really interesting.
Mark is a man who lives with a landlord and helps around the house, especially in looking after the gardens and guarding the house. There is another man, Jake, who comes around to clean up the outdoor grounds’ early morning, and then proceeds to go outside and clean up the roads and public places with a broom. He is a government employee, but cleans up some houses to get some extra money.
Now both these men are poor, as in they live on very little income. And both of them are nearing the age of 55 or even more. Their tough lives have made them strong and they can work in the summer heat, or take on physically demanding tasks.
Mark’s employer has a wheel barrow he lets both these men use for taking out the dry foliage and garbage. It’s easy to work with. Jake asked for a favor. He wanted to borrow it for a few hours a day while he works outside. He couldn’t buy a new one as it was expensive and would cost him a months’ salary.
The landlord is okay with Jake taking the wheel barrow out every morning. It’s sitting idle for most of the day anyway. Now Mark has stopped giving it to him. Mark says he should get his own and he will not let him borrow it anymore.
The poor man will have to look somewhere else now. Why does Mark refuse to help Jake? It’s not costing him anything. Not a cent. Why is it that people refuse to help others even at zero cost? I have seen people look the other way on so many occasions when they were in the best position to help someone in need. Sometimes it costs nothing but five minutes.
I’ve asked Mark. Just asked him curiously why. He doesn’t have an answer. He just says he makes a lot of money; he should get one of his own.