One act of kindness a day keeps sadness away

An act of kindness a day is what mental health counsellors suggest we do; we, the ones who find it difficult to navigate through life's unforeseen situations. It can be something as trivial as leaving a bowl of water out for the birds, or buying something to eat/drink for the little girl selling jasmine garlands at traffic signals to make ends meet.

Dhaka is an extremely fast-paced city. Our exposure to different cultures has sort of melded together and created a concept of modern life that we all try our best to live. However, with modernism comes all types of side effects, like living up to high expectations for yourself and from society, the peer pressure that exists in social circles, all of the mental stresses of the 'mundane' every day, and so on.

May is observed as Mental Health Awareness Month in some countries. In that spirit, start jotting down your good deeds for the month. Kindness, which is like an antidote to sadness and depression, is an act of a genuine desire to make a positive impact towards others, as well as yourself. Kindness and our mental health are deeply intertwined. This gesture teaches us to be a hero, unsung perhaps, but one that gives us a sense of accomplishment and fulfilment.

Dhakaites, in their mean fight for survival, did not forget kindness. A friend of mine has a paper carton at the local mudir dokan (neighbourhood grocery shop) which is always full of biscuit packets, candies, or tetra pack drinks. The idea is that whenever she buys something from the shop, she adds a pack of edibles to that carton, and instructs the shopkeeper to donate it to street children, elderly beggars, and others who might need it. This single kind gesture of hers has inspired many others in her social circle to follow suit.

I know another person who bought mineral water bottles for rickshaw pullers during the heatwave, or treated them to an ice lolly. She even handed out umbrellas to her community guards, as they were on duty at street corners without any shade.

There are also people who give away big jerry cans full of glucose drinks to local mosques during this scorching summer. You may have seen some houses have a tap placed outside their premises. The reasoning for this is to give thirsty rickshaw pullers, or any exhausted passers-by access to clean filtered water. In Gulshan, there was a house that had a big, black terracotta motka (pitcher) with a tin mug for people to drink cool water.

These small acts of kindness give us a meaning to why we work so hard, and a healthy way to not let anxiety, stress, fretfulness, nervousness consume us. An act of kindness impacts on your self-esteem, empathy, and compassion, and also addresses our mood-swings. So, for this month, make it a point to do one act of kindness per day, and your conscience will thank you for it.