Healing Indifference with Kindness

By C S Bromley

We are all interconnected, and in order for the world to heal, we must cure indifference

I have always known that everything happens for a reason but it’s not until you can look back in retrospect that we can truly appreciate the past. Six months ago I moved to a new city. I didn’t have much in the line of savings but I had a job lined up for when I arrived so I wasn’t worried. Well, the job got postponed 3 months, and long story short is I ran out of money. I still had my apartment but I couldn’t afford food so I ended up signing into a shelter where they gave me three hot meals a day. Two weeks later I had begun my new job and was shortly back on my feet financially. Those two weeks changed my life for the better. I’m going to admit that before that experience I felt indifferent to the people I saw on the street asking for money or waiting in line at the shelter. I was always kind and said hello but I just didn’t feel any sense of connection. Sitting at the tables, praying before the meals were served, and being graciously welcomed by everyone I met was a heart-opening experience. We were all vulnerable and it was raw and beautiful. I learned to be humble and so very grateful for the generous kindness of strangers. All the over the country there are churches, missions and shelters that give those in need a safe place to sleep and warm food in the tummy. We have free health care and knowledgeable physicians practicing both Eastern and Western medicine. Even in times of struggle, we are very fortunate in North America. My experience really got me thinking about other parts of the world, particularly Africa.

Here are some facts:

• The UN Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that 239 million people in sub-Saharan Africa were hungry/undernourished in 2010. Poverty is the principal cause of hunger in Africa. Simply put, people do not have sufficient income to purchase enough food.

• 91 percent of the world’s HIV-positive children live in Africa.

• More than one million adults and children die every year from HIV/AIDS in Africa alone. This leaves children as orphans

Every morning when I wake up I ask God, “Where would you have me go?” “What would you have me do?” “What would you have me say?” “And to whom?”

I believe God speaks to you by igniting a drive and a passion in your soul and that’s how I feel about helping children in Africa. I’m involved with an amazing non-profit foundation called “With my own two hands”. Their mission is to bring aid to orphans in Africa who are affected by poverty or have lost their parents to HIV/AIDS. They also take volunteer teams to Africa in order for them to firsthand experience the realities these children face. With their own two hands they build schools and orphanages. Their goal is to spark a sense of consciousness and to show that anyone really can make a difference.

“Kindness in giving creates love.” -Lao Tzu

Whether you support this foundation or you have another way of being of service. Giving, either your time, knowledge or money is very important. We are all connected whether we want to acknowledge it or not. The world will not be healed until we take action outside of ourselves and give to others.
Kindness actually improves one’s health. Of course, we should never do an act of kindness to gain from it. We should always be kind because it’s the right thing to do. But when we are kind, the following are some side effects that come with it:

1) Kindness makes us happier.

2) Kindness gives us healthier hearts.

3) Kindness slows aging.

4) Kindness makes for better relationships.

I urge you to find a cause or a way of service that resonates with you. If we all as Gandhi says “be the change we wish to see in the world”, just think what a brilliant world it will be!

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About the Author

C S Bromley has dedicated her life to studying the healing arts and holds certificates in many different modalities and is also a student of A Course in Miracles. She wants to empower women and children to make lifestyle changes necessary for their best possible health. C S Bromley is a philanthropist and very active in fundraising for children in Africa affected by poverty and the HIV/AIDS epidemic. She has authored forthcoming children’s book, “Isadora’s Journey”.