Pass Out Some Bandaid — Aneel Aranha  

Hello and welcome to The Hope Podcast. I’m Aneel Aranha. Today, we will talk about how we should pass out some bandaids when we see people hurting.

People are in a lot of pain. Sometimes, we can get so caught up in our misery that we fail to see that almost everybody around us is also miserable. Focusing our attention on somebody else would serve several purposes. 

It would distract us from our own troubles: I imagine that would be very welcome! It would also make us realize we are not alone in suffering: although people can put up a good act, there is hardly a person who is not struggling! But most importantly, it will allow us to be good samaritans to somebody in pain! Often, all it takes is a kind word, and with social communication being what it is today, we really don’t have any excuse not to reach out to at least a couple of people every day.

Many of us have made it a habit to forward an encouraging image or message we have received to friends. (If you don’t, start! It’s passing hope around!) This is wonderful, but adding a little note addressed to the friend makes it personal and meaningful. “Hi Mark, I was thinking of you today. I hope you are well. Here’s a message I just received that I thought you might like.” Or: “Hello Susan, It’s been a while since we were in touch. How are you doing? Check this image out.”

But we can also do the same thing when we *meet* people. We can say a kind word to the grocery store check-out girl, the petrol station attendant, or just somebody we bump into. To avoid any misunderstanding, we might want to compliment people of our gender, but we should make this a habit. What do we have to lose? I know they might seem like bandaids, but these little gestures can make a huge difference for somebody struggling to deal with life. 

We often complain that we live in an apathetic world where nobody cares for anyone anymore, but we must realize that we made the world what it is today. And, if it is to change, we must become the change we want to see, just like Gandhi said. For those who want to know what Jesus said, remember the Golden Rule. “Do to others as you would have them do to you” (Luke 6:31). We want people to be kind to us; it is only fitting that we are kind to others.

So, who do you want to be kind to today, dear friend?

God bless you.