Let me begin by telling a story of this one time my mum and I went to a salon together several years ago. Being a Filipina, we like getting our hair semi-permanently straightened whenever needed because our hair is just more manageable that way. Now for those who don’t know the treatment, it takes about 4-6 hours depending on how challenging (or wavy/curly) your hair is. When my mum and I came to the salon, it was a bit late in the afternoon which means the treatment will finish just a bit later than the business hours of the salon.
A few hours later, mum and I came out of the salon looking fresh with our pin drop straight, chemical smelling hair and an additional 2% boost in our confidence. Upon hailing a tricycle to the nearby shopping centre, I thought my mum would feed me like the loving and caring mother that she is. I was happy when we got an assorted box of Mister Donut which I thought was weird because I was already starving and we could have eaten there. Instead, we went back to the salon we went to after buying the doughnuts and mum gave it all to the salon staff.
Moral of the story? My mum puts other people first before her own child. LOL. Joke! What I learned that day from my mum was that sometimes, she would actually get out of her way just to be kind to people.
I learned a lot of things from a lot of people in my 22 years but I learned the most from my mama. She taught me that being kind doesn’t always have to be a huge gesture and that it can be as little as to the words you say to people and the sincerity within it. See, kindness is not watching the TV during dinner and seeing the war in other countries and saying, “Oh, that’s bad” then turning back to eat your dinner as if it will help solve the problem. Kindness is giving that time of the day to a friend, no matter how busy you are because they need someone. Kindness is not doing something nice to someone just so you have something to throw in their face when things get bad. Mum taught me that kindness starts with yourself and is reflected towards how you treat other people. Kindness shapes the way you do things be it at work, in school, or at home. Kindness does not care about reputation. Kindness is helping a stranger on your way to work and not expecting anything in return. Kindness has the patience to not throw back the negative words the world has thrown at you. Lastly, kindness is in my mother’s eyes when I’m crying and she tells me that everything will be alright.
Happy birthday, Mama!
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