Photo by Steven Depolo on flickr.
Many of the articles I find about acts of kindness feature people who are so admirably kind that they almost seem bizarre. They are featured in the news, of course, because what they have done is unusual.
Today I want to call attention, instead, to a person who made a mistake and turned it into something kind and special. We might forget sometimes that the kind people who are featured in these news stories have made mistakes of their own and have been mean at one point or another. You don’t have to be a perfect or somehow extraordinary person to motivate yourself to commit a small act of kindness.
In this brief letter I recently found on a blog, a comic book store customer fully and ashamedly admits that he was stealing codes from the store. It seems he was prompted to write the letter shortly after the store owner had posted on Facebook about the thefts. The letter is as follows:
“Dear Matt,
You operate a great store, one that I’m sure brings a lot of people happiness. Because of that I’m ashamed to even write this to you.
I have been the person who has been copying the Marvel codes for the digital copy. Without paying for them (obviously). There’s no excuse, there’s no explanation. The feeling that you get something for nothing seems at first liberating, but when the after effect of knowing that you’ve consciously hurt others sinks in, there really is nothing but humiliation and the knowledge of the people whose livelihood you’ve lessened.
Over a period of a couple months I’ve taken from you 14 times (Marvel codes – I’ve counted). Which is $56 of lost revenue for your great store. To think that I’ve vilified those who steal and yet find find myself as one of them is the height of hypocrisy. I know it, and whether this means anything to you I am deeply ashamed. And very, very sorry. I know it doesn’t matter whether it was $56 or 56 cents – the end result is the same. Please accept the below to account for that loss, and the extra as whatever…there is no price on what was done to you.
It won’t happen again (and if it does, please be assured that it was not me – for whatever that’s worth). ”
I think it is important to recognize when a person makes a mistake and turns it around in such a manner. This was no grand gesture and his thefts were not of epic proportions, but I admire that his person understands the moral principles behind his actions. Inevitably, we all make mistakes, sometimes really big ones, but there is also something to be said for how you handle the aftermath. We have to accept that reacting kindly afterwards may not erase what was done, but as Aesop wisely said, “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.”
Source: http://kindnessblog.com/2014/03/06/admitting-when-youre-wrong-is-right/
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