Kindness

Last night, I spoke with a representative from Apple Support. I was having some trouble with the Apple TV app on my Roku television. The representative was delightful. I learned that she was located in Vancouver, Canada. We had a lovely chat about my visits to Vancouver, including the most recent trip when my wife and I visited with two of our oldest friends, the rabbi who married us and his wife. We knew them when they lived in Asheville where he was serving as spiritual leader of our local congregation. Following that, they left so he could lead a congregation in West Vancouver. The representative and I joked and laughed and, as much as one can tell over the phone, smiled, as we addressed and solved the technical problem I was having. My wife rolled her eyes a couple of times as she listened to my friendly exchanges with the woman on the other end of the line, the other side of the continent. I don’t feel that I can do much to reduce some of the suffering in the world these days. But what I can do is be friendly, kind, appreciative, and grateful when I interact, even briefly, with folks who are helping me with the routine things that it takes to keep one’s life functioning.