#100HappyDays/ Day21 - Part 1 - Special real project of a dear friend (Vimala Paran)
Project: Help someone a day
Sikkim.....A beautiful ecological hotspot of the lower Himalayan mountains. I am on the way back from Lachung, a picturesque village and was walking by the side of a stream sliding on the pebbles and merrily singing a tune. At a short distance, I saw an old lady carrying a little girl, school bag and lunch bag. I walked briskly and caught up with her. She stopped and smiled.
The cute girl in the school uniform was looking at the bunch of wild flowers I had in my hand without batting her eyelids. I smiled at her and gave the flowers to her. It suddenly occured to me that I could offer to help the old lady. I tried speaking in Hindi, hoping they would understand but in vain. So using the sign language I made gestures asking her where she was going.
She pointed her finger to the top of the hill. I assured the old lady that I will carry her little granddaughter up the hill.I squatted down and let the little kid jump on to my back and then climbed (as though carrying a backpack)up the hill.The old lady's face lit up with a smile - priceless one. The kid was giggling all the way up - talking incessantly in (no idea what language she was speaking - I later found out it could be one of these.....Nepali,Bhutia, Lepcha, Tamang, Limbu, Newari, Rai, Gurung, Magar,Sunwar). I was merrily nodding my head and tried to be a good listener.
I dropped her off near the house and turned back to look at the teary-eyed old lady with hands folded in a namaste. I touched her hands and said it was ok and that I was glad to help. She would carry the kid everyday but that day was different. She was able to give some rest to her back as a stranger(me) carried her little girl up the hill. Even to this day I remember her tear filled eyes.
In those few moments, I had made a difference to her day in a small way. And that mattered. It was a simple helpful gesture from my end. I gave a slice of my time to the old lady and the little girl (neither the unknownlanguage nor unknown identities became a barrier) and it filled their few moments with joy. Walking downhill I thought about it, turned back and waved at them, thus capturing the smiles on their faces in my eyes forever.
A few words by Einstein that I ponder about on a daily basis are -"Only a life lived for others is worth living". These words make so much sense. It had given me happiness to be of some small help. From then on I decided I should help someone (who I would never meet again...or the probability of it would be almost zero).
Now, after so many years, it has become part of my life. An element of daily life as important as any other thing (In wouldn't call it a task...). There would be no dearth of opportunities to help, if only you have a positive attitude, willingness to help and have faith in humanity.
Helping someone without having expectations of them helping you back is the best thought you could have while helping. You never know when someone needs your help. A few kind words, a helping hand, a smile that says -"Don't worry, everything will be ok" a little gesture to rekindle hope in whatever situation, certain warmth when it is gloomy around.....the list is endless. Try helping someone TODAY, I am sure you will not regret.
Think of it this way : - Lot of people stick around when someone is happy, their life is a rosy picture and all is well but 'YOU' are needed when there is no one around and they are helpless.(That is when they are gripped by fear....)
So, you are privileged to be of help to someone in need at that moment. (You bring in faith...with your humane nature and you turn the situation in to "All is well"). Do not lose that moment or the opportunity to be of help and serve others. Have faith in humanity. We all are part of this Mother Earth.
There is a universal peace prayer in Sanskrit -
ॐ सर्वे भवन्तु सुखिनः।
सर्वे सन्तु निरामयाः।
सर्वे भद्राणि पश्यन्तु।
मा कश्चित् दुःख भाग्भवेत्॥
ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥
Translation:
May all be prosperous and happy
May all be free from illness
May all see what is spiritually uplifting
May no one suffer
Om peace, peace, peace
Please wish for happiness of everyone. Helping others and being selfless in serving those who deserve, are in need is more than a penance. Make it a habit and you will never want to quit that habit. As with all projects, there should be an end to this project. right? END DATE: My last day on this planet :-)
I wrote about this project after my mentor told me I should write about it and let others know. I would like to dedicate this piece of writing with gratitude to a girl(name: Unknown) who helped me push my trolley bags to the bus station on time in London. "I was just in time to board the bus to Norwich from London. I was walking towards the bus station and struggling with my bags, helpless, filled with fear that I might miss the bus and with thoughts that I might not be able to reach home that night. Thanks for the help by a stranger." (Excerpt from my diary dated - 20 September 2007)
May you all experience the pleasure and immense happiness of helping others in this project. Lets make this planet a better place to live in.
Vimala Paran
P.S. I never thought I would share about this....but you made me write about. I feel good that I m making a small contribution everyday and deriving happiness in those few moments.
Holding the door open for someone, wishing a good day for the toll booth person, help push the shopping cart for a single mom, stop to help someone find their way around the suburbs, assist the librarian stack the books, fix someone's laptop issue, tie shoe laces of a kid at a store, be a Spanish interpreter for a foreigner struggling to talk in English in US, letting someone in a hurry get ahead in the line ......few simple things ....but definitely brings smiles.
Vimala Paran
Project: Help someone a day
Sikkim.....A beautiful ecological hotspot of the lower Himalayan mountains. I am on the way back from Lachung, a picturesque village and was walking by the side of a stream sliding on the pebbles and merrily singing a tune. At a short distance, I saw an old lady carrying a little girl, school bag and lunch bag. I walked briskly and caught up with her. She stopped and smiled.
The cute girl in the school uniform was looking at the bunch of wild flowers I had in my hand without batting her eyelids. I smiled at her and gave the flowers to her. It suddenly occured to me that I could offer to help the old lady. I tried speaking in Hindi, hoping they would understand but in vain. So using the sign language I made gestures asking her where she was going.
She pointed her finger to the top of the hill. I assured the old lady that I will carry her little granddaughter up the hill.I squatted down and let the little kid jump on to my back and then climbed (as though carrying a backpack)up the hill.The old lady's face lit up with a smile - priceless one. The kid was giggling all the way up - talking incessantly in (no idea what language she was speaking - I later found out it could be one of these.....Nepali,Bhutia, Lepcha, Tamang, Limbu, Newari, Rai, Gurung, Magar,Sunwar). I was merrily nodding my head and tried to be a good listener.
I dropped her off near the house and turned back to look at the teary-eyed old lady with hands folded in a namaste. I touched her hands and said it was ok and that I was glad to help. She would carry the kid everyday but that day was different. She was able to give some rest to her back as a stranger(me) carried her little girl up the hill. Even to this day I remember her tear filled eyes.
In those few moments, I had made a difference to her day in a small way. And that mattered. It was a simple helpful gesture from my end. I gave a slice of my time to the old lady and the little girl (neither the unknownlanguage nor unknown identities became a barrier) and it filled their few moments with joy. Walking downhill I thought about it, turned back and waved at them, thus capturing the smiles on their faces in my eyes forever.
A few words by Einstein that I ponder about on a daily basis are -"Only a life lived for others is worth living". These words make so much sense. It had given me happiness to be of some small help. From then on I decided I should help someone (who I would never meet again...or the probability of it would be almost zero).
Now, after so many years, it has become part of my life. An element of daily life as important as any other thing (In wouldn't call it a task...). There would be no dearth of opportunities to help, if only you have a positive attitude, willingness to help and have faith in humanity.
Helping someone without having expectations of them helping you back is the best thought you could have while helping. You never know when someone needs your help. A few kind words, a helping hand, a smile that says -"Don't worry, everything will be ok" a little gesture to rekindle hope in whatever situation, certain warmth when it is gloomy around.....the list is endless. Try helping someone TODAY, I am sure you will not regret.
Think of it this way : - Lot of people stick around when someone is happy, their life is a rosy picture and all is well but 'YOU' are needed when there is no one around and they are helpless.(That is when they are gripped by fear....)
So, you are privileged to be of help to someone in need at that moment. (You bring in faith...with your humane nature and you turn the situation in to "All is well"). Do not lose that moment or the opportunity to be of help and serve others. Have faith in humanity. We all are part of this Mother Earth.
There is a universal peace prayer in Sanskrit -
ॐ सर्वे भवन्तु सुखिनः।
सर्वे सन्तु निरामयाः।
सर्वे भद्राणि पश्यन्तु।
मा कश्चित् दुःख भाग्भवेत्॥
ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥
Translation:
May all be prosperous and happy
May all be free from illness
May all see what is spiritually uplifting
May no one suffer
Om peace, peace, peace
Please wish for happiness of everyone. Helping others and being selfless in serving those who deserve, are in need is more than a penance. Make it a habit and you will never want to quit that habit. As with all projects, there should be an end to this project. right? END DATE: My last day on this planet :-)
I wrote about this project after my mentor told me I should write about it and let others know. I would like to dedicate this piece of writing with gratitude to a girl(name: Unknown) who helped me push my trolley bags to the bus station on time in London. "I was just in time to board the bus to Norwich from London. I was walking towards the bus station and struggling with my bags, helpless, filled with fear that I might miss the bus and with thoughts that I might not be able to reach home that night. Thanks for the help by a stranger." (Excerpt from my diary dated - 20 September 2007)
May you all experience the pleasure and immense happiness of helping others in this project. Lets make this planet a better place to live in.
Vimala Paran
P.S. I never thought I would share about this....but you made me write about. I feel good that I m making a small contribution everyday and deriving happiness in those few moments.
Holding the door open for someone, wishing a good day for the toll booth person, help push the shopping cart for a single mom, stop to help someone find their way around the suburbs, assist the librarian stack the books, fix someone's laptop issue, tie shoe laces of a kid at a store, be a Spanish interpreter for a foreigner struggling to talk in English in US, letting someone in a hurry get ahead in the line ......few simple things ....but definitely brings smiles.
Vimala Paran
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