I had to go the the labour office this morning. The dreaded day had arrived in hope of a turn for the positive where I’d hear the words “I have the perfect job for you. You are going to love this”, followed by a huge genuine smile. This never happens so whenever I come face to face with one of the ever so grumpy ladies behind the desk, I make a point of smiling and being friendly which is not that easy to do when the other party is not reciprocating. I make the assumption that they don’t enjoy their job very much. What other reason would be grounds for such unhappy faces? “Just smile damn it, you’d feel better for it. I bet you have a lovely smile” I want to say, but of course I don’t. So I just smile at them anyhow hoping it will rub off. It doesn’t.
I read an article recently saying research shows that kindness is contagious. Apparently it has been scientifically proven to have a ripple effect. How great is that? I suppose it’s not a huge shocker but all the same it gives me a warm feeling inside to know this. Kind of like one of those things that restores a little faith in humanity.
“Be kind, for everybody is fighting a hard battle.” A popular quote ascribed to Plato. I’m not certain as to whether he actually said it, nevertheless, I like it. It reminds us to have some compassion for people we might otherwise not feel for. Sure, one could argue that some are better off than others, but it’s as simple as it sounds. There’s no judgments or story behind it. And besides, doesn’t it take fewer muscles to smile than to frown? I found out that’s a myth that hasn’t been busted but whatever.
Alright, so what moved me to write about kindness? Well, as I said I had to go to the labour office this morning. I decided to cycle there which would take me about thirty minutes from my home in Engomi. Off I went, happy that I was getting some exercise and some wind in my hair until, not even half way there, I began to really struggle. I changed gears to no avail. I was on a flat road surface so it didn’t make any sense. Something was wrong. I even stopped and Googled ‘how to change gears’ which brings up a bunch of articles on cycling. I quickly gave up on that and decided to suck it up and get through it. I was sweating by this point and not due to the mid-morning sun. It felt as though I was doing squats while lifting up ten kilo dumbbells. There was no way I was going to make it there in time this way, if at all.
I looked to the left and right of the road to see if, by any chance, there were any bicycle shops around. There wasn’t. There was however, a car garage. This was my best bet. I ride into the garage puffed out looking a little worse for wear. I ask for help. I was warmly welcomed by the owner who took one look at my bike and immediately realised that the weight of the basket was pushing down on the reflector which in turn was pushing down on the brake wire. I had been cycling with the brakes tightly enclosed around the front tire. “Ahhh, that explains it” I say, feeling like a bit of a dumb-ass at this point. The garage owner goes to get a screwdriver and tightens the basket and the reflector. I was ready to set off on my not so merry way, when he suggests welding a piece of metal from the basket to the frame of the bike to act as support. I agreed that would be a good idea and he got to work. He got out his metal welder and face protector. Lots of flying sparks and 10 minutes later I had a fully secured basket. But he didn’t end there. He continued to spray paint the area to make it look pretty and then oiled the chain, breaks and pedals, perfecting his work. He did all this with such care and precision and charged me absolutely nothing. That, friends, is a random act of kindness. It’s not even his job to fix bicycles and yet took it upon himself to help me out.
The garage owners name was Andros and his shop is on Kyriakou Matsi in Ayios Dometios. If he takes as much care and attention to detail as he did with my bike with his customers cars then I’m pretty sure he does a damn fine job. Now you know where he is in case you want to drop by with any car issues. 🙂
So yeah, kindness goes a long way. I got to the labour office on time only to be grumpily told there is no jobs in my field. Oh well. A least my bike is fixed. I will also make a conscious effort to remember the ripple effect and never be a total a**hole… which of course I never, ever, ever am. Ever.
