In this world, we are required to be kind to each other, and sometimes even to everyone. Not all people can do this, this is a quite tough things to do. But to whoever manages to do this, I am curious, as I am curious to myself as well.

Why do we be kind to people?

The definition of people here is not only people not related to us (strangers, those less fortunate people, etc), but also people related to us (friends, colleagues, families, etc). Being kind oftentimes does not offer us anything in return. And if we expect to get anything in return for being kind to someone else, that doesn’t sound good. Being kind to people often looks like we are sacrificing something from our life, our selves, our part of life, and yet we still do it.

But, why?

I did some good things to people in order of trying to be kind. However, after I have done it, I would question myself. Why did I do what I do? Is it just because I want to help them? Or because I want to look kind? Is it because I love them so that I don’t want them to go through that alone, or because I want to feel good about myself by doing “good things”?

Now that I have asked myself those questions, I came up with other questions in my head.

What if I don’t help them at all? Will I still feel good about myself? Will I still say out loud that I love them? Will I be seen as a heartless person? Will I be okay watching them going through all of that alone by themselves?

But my questions do not stop there. It is easy to stop there if I don’t know the person. If I only think about helping a stranger or less fortunate people, maybe I won’t think much about the background behind it (or maybe I do? Haha). But if it is someone I know, someone that is related to me in some level, I would question it further.

How did this person end up in this situation? What happened? Is this thing happening because of his own fault, or because someone took advantage of him, or because it’s just it?

Now, here is the thing. I might look weird for asking such thing or scenario in my own head, but I can’t stop myself and think. I don’t know why I have to think that much for helping a person, but I think helpig tirelessly for one person when what happened to him is because of hiw own fault makes me thinking, do my help leads to good and better things, or in fact the opposite?

I’m really afraid that what my kindness look like is just a selfish thing for myself and not exactly helping other people. Just because I want to be seen as a good person, or just because I want to feel good about myself and make myself a ‘kind’ person.

When it’s the time for me to think about these things, I go back to the highlighed question.

Why do we be kind to people?