Extraordinary Gestures in Ordinary Places

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There are surprises all through life, surprises that make us laugh until our sides hurt, or surprise us into remembering that sometimes the unexpected people can shine like stars in a midnight sky. What always dazzles me, however, is when people, those who are often judged or looked upon with a negative bias, suddenly go against what was expected of them. Whether it was done with a hidden agenda or just for the pure joy of doing good, I could not possibly be less interested in the motive behind the act, as long as they chose not to be like everyone else. After all, “a good deed is never lost; he who sows courtesy reaps friendship.”

The brother once told a story of astonishment. He told it with such reverence for the giver of that gift that his voice dripped with reverence. The degree of surprise was apparently so great that it was “as an electric current running through a careless ECG officer.” Brightly, his happiness was replicated. The height of smiles formed a contour round his facial lines, following “the Lower Volta beneath the Adomi Bridge.” Certainly, “when the heart is full, the mouth runs over.”

To this brother, travel is nothing new. His line of work has seen him go deep into the country, and on many travel expeditions, he has encountered people who “take care” of motorists and passengers along the way (no, not the Police oo). Quite many times, he has refused to give them money, opting to crack them up with jokes so strong that even the toughest look on would crack into smiles. “Laughter is the shortest distance between two hearts,” this one.

However, in one particular ride, something unexpected was about to happen. One of his friends signaled him to roll down the car window. He assumed that this was what was supposed to happen and therefore slowly lowered his car window. His friend asked him to roll the window down even more. He was reluctant but did as his friend asked. To his great surprise, the man threw a present into his car and said “Merry Christmas” while smiling. “A gift, no matter how small, is great when given with love.”

He came back to retell this tale, still radiating with wonder. Another colleague, who used to take the same route, verified that he too had received a similar gift on his route.

But for some of us, this came as a surprise. Yet it’s a gesture that’s become almost normal in social environments like Facebook. Take, for example, a security officer who decided to donate an assortment of toffees with his salaries. This happened along a road where he gave out these toffees for free. But why would he do so? Because, according to him, his motive for this gesture came after people began to think that these officers take but don’t give. They see only one side of their profession, which consists of forcing people to give them money while never giving in return. But this officer had a mission: that “not all fingers are equal, but each has its use.”

He wanted to make people remember that “one rotten nut does not spoil the whole sack.” There are good people in the military, working towards rewriting history. Maybe, just maybe, this is what the actual gift is – not the toffee, but the reminder of how “a single act of kindness throws roots in all directions.”

These deeds remind us that goodness can emerge in the most unexpected of places. These deeds remind us of the truth of the ancient ones: “the river that forgets its source will dry up. But the river that remembers to give will always flow.”