For the most part of our lives, we have been taught “mind your own business.” This is a widely used and harmless phrase. But if we should all mind our own business, who will notice those that are falling to pieces within? Who will hear the silent cries of those who smile by day, but cry at night? The general rush of affairs today has made everything so individual that we forget the quiet strength we hold in compassion.
We pass by or simply ignore people who carry invisible burdens. We soemtimes or most times pass the stories of pain when come across one, and say, “they do not concern us.” Sometimes it's not the big things we can do but the little act or action we give can make a difference, that one conversation and a moment of listening may change a life radically.
Few years back, I had a conversation with a Turkish lady which changed her perspective. As the conversation went on, I saw tears in her eyes. She said that she was living with her mother, who loved her very much, but that her father was in Africa working his fingers to the bone for family support. He seemed to her to be so far away that she felt he was practically out of her life, and for years she suffered for this phase longing for the very man who was striving to make her future secure.
During that conversation we began sharing our experiences. Stories of heart pains, loss, of sacrifice and love which was misunderstood. Some way, some little path through her heart began to open to her. She realised that the reasons for her father’s failure to be with his family was not lack of thoughtfulness, but sacrifice. A great and heavy burden which he had chosen to bear, for her sake.
Behind every birthday which was not remembered, behind every quiet night, there was a man who was struggling with loneliness and fatigue in the hope of putting through something for his family that would be better in the end. This time brought back to me something vastly important. Some people are going through a lot, waging silent wars we know nothing about. It takes something of our own to give emapathy, and not lack of thought or indifference, to comprehend their situation.
It's not always about just giving advice but sometimes just a listening ear and the touch of understanding. A simple conversation can sometimes bring clarity and take away a person's resentment and dissatisfaction. Perhaps we should not be so intensely interested in “minding our own business.” Some people may argue that trying to help others had landed them in trouble and for that matter,they would rather mind their business. But isn't true humanity also about reaching to the people and asking “Are you feeling okay?”
Sometimes this feels awkward and out of place, but again with a little thought, it may help somone to open up about issues that could end their life. The world does not heal through isolation but connectivity. With every little act of compassion no matter how small it may seem, is more powerful than we can imagine. Kindness is never wasted.