Kindness Diaries

All the TV I watch (with the exception of Antiques Roadshow and some of the PBS specials) is on Netflix.  Mostly because of commercials, or rather the lack of commercials.  Back in the late 70s and early 80s, I paid for cable TV in order to watch channels with fewer or no commercials.  Somewhere along the line, most of the cable stations now have commercials.  I haven't paid for cable TV for 20+ years, and don't ever intend to start.  Unless by some freak accident I become a super-sports fan?  I don't see that happening.... but life changes us all.

My newest finding is The Kindness Diaries.  A man named Leon Logothetis, a successful broker, felt disconnected, leading an uninspired life, and sets out on a quest to travel the world on his motorcycle with sidecar named Kindness One.  Without money, he sets out to rely on the kindness of strangers for a place to sleep, meals and gasoline.  I admire his brave spirit in asking complete strangers if he could crash at their place for a night.  And he runs into the kindest people everywhere.  They take him into their home, share their space and food, along with their personal stories.  

In his "previous life", Leon was a money-maker, and sometimes he finds a way to give back to these kind souls.  One family of five was dependent on a single cow for their livelihood -- and he bought them another cow.  Another, a homeless man, invites Leon to stay with him in his 'space' outdoors.  He told Leon, "True wealth is not what’s in our wallet; it’s what’s in our heart."  Leon isn't the kind who just writes someone a check, he takes the time to learn what would be most needed, most used. These strangers changed his life, and he changes theirs as well.

If you look hard enough, you will find kindness abounds.  So why is it so difficult to see?  and more, to acknowledge?  Have we become so inundated with bad news stories, crime tv shows, that we have come to expect to see the bad all around us?

I'll never be like Leon, able to walk up to total strangers and ask for something.  But that doesn't mean I can't take a moment or two each day to 1) be kind to another human and 2) to watch for others' kindness.

Good show, well worth the time to watch.
Bravo, Leon!   With every episode you make me more hopeful.
Be kind out there, folks!