The Kindness Movement

We will start this blog with a case scene.

Imagine waking up one day and checking your social media accounts (like most of us do, I am sure) and finding out that you are trending. You are trending because someone made a funny meme on you and now it is viral. You are shocked, aghast seeing this. You find it the topic of discussion in most of your whatsapp groups. People send messages asking - Have you seen this? The serious ones in your contacts urge you to take strict action against whosoever did this. The sensitive ones say that they have deleted the meme and won't forward it. The funny and casual ones tease you and tell you of their contribution in forwarding the meme. You are stunned. The meme is funny, sure, but it makes fun at your expense! You feel the need to disconnect from the social media for some time till the fervour dies down. And you exit from all the groups in whatsapp.

Take another case.

It is a re-union of your school friends and you attend it wearing a bold and revealing dress you are comfortable in. You enjoy with your friends and have a great time. Few days later you check the post in the FB page of your school where pictures of the re-union have been posted. You happily re-live the memories when you see the comments on you. These are comments from some other batch of the school, and not all are flattering. While some applaud you for your bold choice in the dress, there are some who are ripping you apart, calling you 'vulgar' and 'attention-seeking'. Then there are some lewd comments from some perverts too. You feel uncomfortable suddenly. And you close the site. But a little damage has already been done. Your mood has dimmed.

And now, imagine this happening to someone who is already feeling low and has been quietly battling depression since a while now. What if the meme, or the unflattering comments strike the final nail on him/her and drive that person to take some desperate measure??

These things are happening now, people. 

Funny memes are made on celebrities, insulting them and those memes are forwarded everywhere. The common public interact directly with the celebrities through various media and bash and troll them. Simply because they can. 

And this is not just about celebrities.

I feel that, for some reason, the social media makes us brave and reckless to hurt people, even those whom we care about, with whom we have spent our childhood or teenage. A slight difference of opinion with regards to politics or religion sparks a hot debate in Whatsapp group and ends up alienating those people who went to school together. It starts as an argument and then it takes a personal turn with people finding ways to hurt each other through 'messages'. I wonder whether they would fight and argue face-to-face as severely as they do online. Is the virtual presence a motivation to speak out without any consideration or thought for our own peace or for the feelings of the other? 

Is a difference of opinion a reason to turn our friends into people who dislike us? 

We are living in difficult times. The morale is low, tempers and frustration is high. The media contributes in creating panic as news channels keep showing 'the rising number of cases' every minute, every day. I wish they would find a positive way to share news. Like, just inform the number of recovered cases too! And like they show sad news with all the sad background music of violin, may be they could shout out the recovered cases in a manner of celebration and joy. Something that is grossly needed today. 

At such difficult times, it is imperative of us to practice every form of kindness. A smile, a friendly word, an encouraging and motivating sentence is all that is needed to brighten up someone's day. 

Locked at home and no one in contact with, there isn't much I can do to bring the change in people's mindsets. But there are certain things that I can do, and will do, and hope that you too would do them, dear reader.

Firstly, I am not going to forward any kind of meme that makes fun at someone's expense. Humour is essential in life but not if it hurts someone. If the meme is about a situation and doesn't target any individual, then I believe there is no harm in forwarding it. In fact it needs to be forwarded so that someone somewhere will have a good laugh, and it wont even be at anyone's expense! 

Secondly, I will not forward any un-verified news about the pandemic, or impending earthquakes, or end of the world. In fact, I will make sure to forward and post only positive news, news that will brighten up someone's mood and won't contribute to the raging inferno of the pandemic scare. 

I am going to refrain from posting any political or religious opinion in any groups. If anyone posts anything that I don't agree with, I won't comment on that. I will stay silent. Everyone is entitled to their own beliefs and to each one, his/her own! I won't lose a friend simply over a difference of opinion.

And while I am not a big movie buff, I do wish that people would stop criticising movies or giving bad reviews. What didn't work for one, might work for another! If you loved a movie, then go ahead and give it a glowing review. But if you didn't like a movie, then there is no need to review it at all! May be someday it would come to pass that good movies get excellent review and the movies that didn't quite strike the mark won't be criticised or commented upon. It takes tremendous efforts, both for a good movie and a mediocre movie and ripping apart the movie or its cast kind of feels ruthless. Let us leave it at 'tough luck, wishing bright future ahead!'. I already do this with books. I am in a book-group and whenever I read a book that I loved, I give a good review about the same in the group. But if I didn't relate to a particular book, I don't write anything about it. As a wanna-be writer myself, I know what it takes to think, imagine and write it out. I have had my own share of flak and criticism, and I know what it can do to a writer. 

As the quote goes - 'Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle'. People suffer physically and mentally, and another unkind word or gesture can break them completely. Let us all be kind to everyone. While there are many forms of kindness, sometimes, the simplest form is to not say anything at all when the situation demands of you to be rude or unkind. Be kind to your family. Don't condemn or criticise. Encourage and inspire! 

So, what prompted this rant? 

There is something deeply painful about a 34 year old, super-talented, highly educated, philosophical, dreaming actor requesting his fans to watch his movies else he will be thrown out of Bollywood. He struggled, he failed to cope and he opted for the rope. And now the sighs and laments pour in from all sides saying - 'I wish I knew', ' I wish I was there', 'I wish I had reached out to you'. The time to reach out to your loved ones, the time to know your loved ones and the time to be there for your loved ones is - when they are alive!  Reach out to your family, your friends and be there for them always, so that they know that they are loved and cared for.

Be kind in every way you can!

So, reader, are you with me in The Kindness Movement? I hope you are, and I hope that you too will make your important contribution in making the world a better place, simply by being kind. If you can relate to this, and if this feels feasible to you, then please do share it with your loved ones and friends so that The Kindness Movement gets even more people in its caravan. 

Thank you reader, and I have to say, by writing this out, the gloom that had enveloped my mind since three days has taken off slightly and I feel hopeful.