Intelligent Angels- Part 1 - Published in the GDN (8Jun2006)

During my stay in Watford, England for company training, I got to see a part of a close friend of mine’s personality that I had never seen before. Her acts of kindness to random strangers made me look at her in a different light. She struck me as an intelligent angel. I am saying intelligent simply because her kindness acts cost almost no money, very little time but could leave a great impact on people’s lives. She would give her underground day pass to the homeless by the end of the day, she would play music to the people we buy our tickets from at the train station or she would tell a shopkeeper to smile “because it’s Ramadhan, everyone should be happy”.
Her kindness was contagious, I started cooking meals for the shelter I lived close to, sending emails to friends and family telling them I loved them, buying cookies for everyone in the office or even complimenting a total stranger on a piece of clothing. Her kindness also started a dream for me, the dream of starting a charity organization that specialises in “kindness”.

I later learned that this concept was thought of before I have in a book written by Dan Wallace called “Random Acts of Kindness: 365 Ways to Make the World a Nicer Place “. This book gives an idea a day for a whole year of being kind without costing much. Like leaving cigars in maternity wards for the dads, or buying from smaller local stores, or switching places in a queue with the person behind you.

The dream grew and is still growing with me. How wonderful would it be if we had angels everywhere? How would you have liked it if a an angel actually showed up to help you through little tasks, as simple as carrying your baggage through a staircase, giving you a lift after your not-so corporative car decided to break down, or buying you lunch even.

The idea is to apply frequent, small simple daily changes rather than one huge good deed that will make you feel good for ages to come and make you think “Well, I did that well, I can stop for a while now”. Think of simple ideas such as giving someone your seat, holding a pre-mature baby in a hospital to help him/her grow or reading books to orphans, the choices are endless, but you have to be an angel to spot them.

Angels are becoming extinct, along with the animals living in exotic rainforests. Since we cannot import, create or manufacture angels using state-of-the-art technology or a substitute of an element or another. We have to get trained to become angels.

I dream through this charity of making peoples’ lives easier, happier and more positive. The aim is to spread smiles, enthusiasm and ease like a contagious dust that infects people through air.

Another vital element is awareness. People need to understand the importance of helping others, generally being nice, and living for others as well as ourselves to finally create a friendly, aware community that is compassionate, loving and –dare I say it again- NICE.

Needless to say, Bahrain is a country of givers. There are hundreds of charities around the country that fund for causes we may or may not be aware of. The substantial efforts of members in those charities are worth praising. However, my dream charity does not aim to raise finances and funds. It is Awareness and Kindness that I dream of. It will not take much, but you can change a nation’s state of mind, if you are an angel.