The yellow lights are flashing, a woman huddles under an altogether too small umbrella, the rain is pouring down, her car is omitting a small steady stream of smoke from the front. It's 7 pm and many, many cars on the road, yet nobody stops.
It's a very hot summersday and the dog has been tied up to the bike rack infront of the pub for hours. It whimpers and restlessly sits and stands intermittedly. There is no water for it to drink, and although many people pass the dog on their way in and out of the pub, yet nobody stops.
A young man, teenager probably, sits at the train station on the ground with a backpack tightly embraced in his arms. His cap pulled down, his clothes torn and his outstretched hand dirty. The voice is barely audible as he begs for money. Many pass him on their way to and from the trains, yet nobody stops.
By the window in the food courts at the big shopping centre an elderly woman sips her coffee slowly. She is neatly dressed, her hair glistening with hairspray and a pastel coloured scarf drapes her shoulders. There's a newspaper next to her coffe cup, opened, but unacknowledged. Numerous people come and go in the food court, some sit next to her, yet nobody stops to talk with her.
The music is thumping, the lights flashing, and the dancefloor full of moving bodies. People excitedly shout salutations across the room to each other. A man is standing at the bar anxiously throwing glances in every direction, but as soon as the door opens, his face lights up. Anticipation makes his eagerness cast a beam like a lighthouse, yet nobody sees him.
Kindness. Self gets put on a shelf, and the other becomes king. A moment of really seeing someone else, acknowleding their situation without prejudice or judgement, and then offering to lay one's self to the side while embracing theirs.
Kindness. Kindness. Kindness. Let's say it again; kindness.
Put self on the shelf and serve someone else.
Like gold, kindness is precious regardless of the amount.
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