“I hope that one day you will have the experience of doing something you do not understand for someone you love.”
― Jonathan Safran Foer
In my favorite book “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close,” Jonathan Safran Foer writes about the struggle of a young boy trying to connect with his father after losing him on September 11th. This story is meaningful to me for many reasons, but especially because of what it teaches about kindness. The nine-year-old main character of the story travels around New York City meeting all kinds of people from all over the world. What I love most is how the story highlights one of the most important forms of kindness that we can practice: a kind where we do not have to understand why we are doing it, but we know it will help somebody else. This is the form of kindness that I have been inspired to share since my first time reading the book.
There have been times in my own life when I have been in need of kindness from others. In those times, I have always been grateful for the people around me who are willing to help, no matter what the situation is. Moments like that have inspired me to remember that you do not need to understand an act of kindness in order to accomplish one. This quote inspires me by reminding me that we can perform acts of kindness for the people who are closest to us, but we can also do them for those we might not know as well.
This quote teaches me that is through acts of kindness that our love for all those around us will grow.
Sophie B
WSU