Protesters and police officers are often at odds, but in the end they are all humans, and basic human kindness is called for.

The police officer in this photo was injured as a protest and the young man was not. And so he picked up the injured state agent and carried them to safety. He did this, not because he believed in the rightness of the state or the rightness of a cop threatening violence. Rather, he believed in the elimination and avoidance of human suffering… and he saw the cop as a fellow human being instead of merely an enemy uniform.

There is a great deal of good that can come from loving our “enemies.” We must see them as people, not targets.

* * * * *

Before returning to the mundane, imagine yourself in the position of the young man in the image: Disagreeing with and even being offended by what the police officer’s bosses were doing, but still seeing a suffering human being in front of him, and acting to repair it. Spend a moment with those thoughts, imagine others standing near you, imagine the cop’s feelings.

Helping one another is especially warranted when people are out of their element, scared and in jeopardy. Immigrants face this very frequently, and very strongly. And so, an immigration lawyer, waiting to help and without obligation, is more of a blessing than someone who hasn’t been in that situation might appreciate.

Whether or not this lawyer (or lawyers) gets any paid business from this, it is a powerful humanitarian act, and one the immigrants will not soon forget.

* * * * *

Before going back to the mundane, either remember or consider doing something benevolent for a person who is frightened and powerless. Go thorough the story slowly, feeling the events, and especially your enduring satisfaction afterward.

The man on the left donated part of his liver to dying mom, the woman in the center. That’s something that these people will hold dear for life… and which their children will hold dear. It invested them in one another.

And while collectivist ideals have shown themselves to be horrifyingly bad in practice – when they are enforced – we really are invested in each other over the long term. What our generation does will form the world the next generation receives.

* * * * *

Before going back to the mundane, consider what kind of world we’d like our grandchildren to live in. Consider also that the sum of all our actions will form that world.

There was a natural disaster where these people lived, and the electrical power system was down. And so, many people went to a large building supply store, to buy an electrical generator. Soon enough the store ran out, and the man in this photo got the last one.

On his way to paying for the generator, however, he learned that the woman in this photo had a father who was living on oxygen, and for whom a power outage was a serious threat. The man, who doubtless had considerations of his own, simply handed the generator to her, and wished her the best.

As we say, humans help one another, especially when they are able to see clearly. This situation allowed the man to see very clearly. Once he did, his natural decency rose to the fore.

* * * * *

So, before going back to the mundane, try to remember incidents when you were very clear on right and wrong… when you knew what was the right thing without a doubt. That type of moral clarity is far, far more important than people usually understand. Spend a few minutes with it.

This elderly woman apparently couldn’t afford books, and so she would stand at the book racks in a grocery store, reading.

The manager put in a bench for her, so she would feel welcome and read in comfort.

Humans, given the opportunity, help one another. They have for as long as we can tell, and they will for as long as we can tell.

* * * * *

Now, please do one more uplifting thing before you go back to the mundane. Here are a few suggestions:

• Buy someone a good book. Send it to them with a note, telling them precisely why it was important to you.
• Make a list of good books and give it to a young person.
• Ask your local bookstore if you can pay for X copies per month of a book you feel is important. Ask them to distribute those copies to whomever they feel would benefit from them.

A middle school started a father-son breakfast program, but some of the boys had no father, and others had a father who couldn’t show up. So they asked for 50 volunteer dads.

600 men, of all types, showed up.

Our world is full of men who want to be good; who are looking for an opportunity to do good.

* * * * *

Now, please do one more uplifting thing before you go back to the mundane. Here, just to help, are a few ideas:

• If you’ve had experiences of this type, spend a few minutes reliving them.
• Think about sitting in that auditorium and talking with the men who showed up.
• Think about someone who stepped into your life and contributed.

They call this man Bagel Jesus. He takes old bagels from the place he works and gives them out to hungry people on his way home… and he does it regularly.

Active and productive people have far more abilities at their fingertips than they tend to realize. We’re usually so busy that we don’t notice, but the abilities are there.

There may be times when we simply cannot expend more time and energy, and that’s okay too; as the famous line goes, to every thing there is a season. 

But when we can, it behooves us to be like Bagel Jesus.

* * * * *

So, before going back to the mundane, see if there’s something you can do for someone in difficulty. Large or small does not matter: Even a sincere and friendly smile can help a great deal. What matters is that we do such things… any such things.

This math professor and his students were locked out of their classroom because of some kind of protest. On top of that, it was raining. Nonetheless, the professor took his class behind the building and taught them, writing with chalk on a wall… ignoring the rain.

People who believe in what they’re doing… people who believe they are drawing some good thing out of themselves… step over and around impediments. They do the hard things, no matter that they’re hard and even because they are hard.

* * * * *

So, before going back to the mundane, remember a time when you did something that was hard, because you believed in it. Or, imagine such an event: Go through it slowly and precisely, considering the process of choosing and the euphoria of doing.

This photo is an obvious one: The young man is praying for a homeless person, sleeping on a sidewalk. It was an act of compassion.

All sorts of complaints about praying have been made (including a Bible passage about loving not just in word, but in deed), but whether or not this act changed things for the homeless man, they did for the young man who was praying: He was engaging his compassion, he was doing his very best to reach out and convey some sort of benevolence to a suffering human being. These are not vain actions; they do have effects.

* * * * *

Consider, before returning to the mundane, that all sincere acts of compassion are to be welcomed. So, please try to feel compassion yourself: pick a target and spread your intentions. Actions may be be  more effective that intentions, but actions also begin with intentions.

For more than twelve years, this gentleman has gone to a local hospital, twice a week, to hold, comfort and love babies in their Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. They call him “The ICU Grandpa.”

Babies absolutely require being held, touched, talked to and loved. How much good this man has done is impossible to quantify, but most assuredly it is a large amount.

No matter how quiet and isolated our lives may be, there are always ways to contribute, as this ICU Grandpa has demonstrated.

* * * * *

Now, before you go back to the mundane, what could you do to birth some goodness into the world? Please spend a few minutes considering this. Make some notes, come back to them later. Think of something that would help someone, whether you know them or not.