The Easiest Thing in the World

Quite some years ago, while studying at an upcountry school, the Canossian nuns introduced us to the concept of ‘one good deed a day’ with hilarious consequences. In our eagerness to impress the nuns, we embarked on a multitude of ‘good deeds’ and outdid each other in inventiveness with some not so happy results, like taking old people across the road even when they didn’t want to go!

Once I had got over the fervor – and that was pretty quickly – the concept still holds me in thrall even though it is now limited to just the one good deed and probably not every day. It is amazing at how something so very small can pay such very large dividends; the dividend being very tangible in terms of joy. It could be just a smile while exchanging glances on the street or a simple please and thank you to the bus conductor or train ticket vendor. From the startled smiles and quickly muttered, ‘you’re welcome’, I realise how rarely they hear ‘thank you’ from the daily commuter. It could be that little extra in the tip and a few words of appreciation to the waiter in a restaurant or it could be taking the time to make a phone call to a senior citizen just to say, ‘thinking of you’. It could be getting down to cleaning a cupboard and finding stuff to give away (double dividend!!). Little things that make a difference.

The idea is not so much to gather heaven’s pennies for the piggy-bank but to change this world for the better in incremental and possible ways. The easiest thing in the world? Not really! When the day has started badly or something annoys or unsettles, the possibility of good deeds flies out of the window. And this is one area where charity seldom begins at home. But the flip-side is that when things are out of kilter, you can make a withdrawal from that ‘piggy-bank’ and enjoy a good deed to yourself. Indulge in that extra cup of tea, a timeout in your personal space, a phone chat to a friend – whatever takes away the stress. Because in the time honoured realm of good deeds, what goes round comes round!