There was a time in life when kindness was as common as the morning sun. A neighbour’s pot cooked for the street, doors stayed open, and a child could drink water from any neighbourhood without fear of poison or scepticism. We walked in a world where humanity was not a performance but a natural reflex. Today, that world now feels like a faded photograph; though precious, it is trapped behind glass.
Somewhere along the way, kindness became expensive. Distrust became cheaper than laughter. We began to weigh generosity the way merchants weigh gold, and became afraid that giving too much would make us poor, forgetting that the soul only dries up when it stops flowing. Now we live in an era where compassion is treated like a rare currency; often earned by a few, earnestly desired by many, and replaced with emojis, slogans, and digital applause.
Help is now packaged for the camera, internet, and the newspaper headlines while generosity has become the new loudspeaker. Empathy now needs an audience before it breathes. But the truth remains: kindness is not weak, nor is it naïve. Kindness is a rebellion in this instant because in a world that teaches people to harden their hearts, the ones who choose softness are the warriors. In a generation where some individuals are trained to look away, the one who bends to lift another is already disrupting the system.
When a society celebrates cruelty, the peaceful soul becomes a threat to the hierarchy of things. No accomplished revolution ever started with bullets; they all began with just an open heart. Things like a stranger offering shelter to the displaced, a friend sharing their food with others, a nurse choosing patience instead of anger, a leader listening instead of shouting, and a citizen refusing to hate some people for no justifiable reason just because others persuaded them to do so.
Such a great mindset changes more destinies than we all can ever imagine.
Kindness is not just about what you give, it is more about what you risk for others such as the risk of always being misunderstood for your compassion and often taken advantage of, while you give without receiving anything in return, and carrying someone else's weight while your own knees are still trembling. And yet, the brave ones still choose it. For in every society; both the broken and blessed, some people cling to kindness like a sacred duty.
They are the ones who will rise before dawn to care for the elderly who need assistance. The ones who pay school fees for a child they may never meet again in their lifetime. The ones who forgive those who hurt them, even when every emotion screams against it. The ones that would lend their time, strength, voice, and resources without asking for any credit whatsoever. They are called the true revolutionaries. The world will not get better because we built higher walls or sharper weapons. It will recover because ordinary people choose extraordinary compassion.
The world will get better if someone decides to carry light into another person’s darkness. Charity that is quiet and unadvertised still exists. So, if you come across this write-up and your heart still bends towards goodness, do not think of yourself as soft. You are a rare gem, you are strong, and you are part of the quiet army fighting to return humanity to itself. And in this age of cold hearts and loud cruelty, your kindness is not just a virtue, it is a revolution.
✍🏽 William Z. Bozimo
Veteran Journalist | Columnist | National Memory Keeper
Wow!!! Thank You Uncle. More Grace Sir.
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