To Google, a good person is described as someone who embraces qualities that promote positive outcomes and well-being for humanity as a whole. I would add that a good person seeks no kindness in return, no gift, no reward for doing the right thing. Sometimes our truest, most kind self, appears in the quiet moments of life. I have spent time volunteering at my local hospital observing and understanding the people that need support in those quiet moments. One Saturday, while passing out the dinner trays, I walked into a patient room. They had no one, no family, no roommate. It was just her. After confirming the tray was hers and setting it down, she began to talk. She began talking about her life, her family, the flowers on her bed, her hopes to leave the hospital. Volunteers had always been encouraged to just walk away and gently excuse themselves when older patients, many times with dementia, began a conversation. But at that moment I couldn’t. It felt wrong. The smile that began on her face made me realize that the memory did not have to last for it to matter. She wanted to talk to someone, to share her story. The least I could do was listen. Good deeds are not what we do in the light of day, when someone is there to watch. It is what we do when we are alone, when there is no reward hanging over your head, no praise to be received. Though the patient may never remember our interaction, I do, and I remember the way it felt to truly listen to someone else and realize that I am not the only one with problems, with fears, or with dreams.
Menu
