I was on Daily Post today. Please visit the link today to read what the whole world is sharing about “Moment of Kindness” and stay inspired.
Click here : http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2013/06/20/daily-prompt-kindness/
_________________________________________________________________________
Some moments change your life , others just change the season. 🙂
I love balloons; to me , they signify colors of butterfly , freedom of birds ; yet they are life-less. When you let them fly you don’t worry about their safety in an unknown destination; you can cut all material attachments easily and let your love fly away.
Balloons also signify my colorful childhood ; each birthday parties of friends, Christmas decorations at home. I believed – every child can play with a balloon.
This story happened in a summer in a coastal city of India. Cities in India are versatile – they hug the poor and rich without changing their class differences or dreams. You can be happy & content no matter wherever you are – that’s how every Indian city stood strong for years and made rich history!
The boy friend and I gifted our Friday evenings to Pizza hut. One of the reasons was my eternal love for pizza. But the more reasonable reason was the road across the Pizza hut. On Fridays, that road used to be full of life – street vendors advertising their items , people shopping around for the weekend , children celebrating end of a school week with ice-creams and street food . Everything happy & extremely lively.
He loved a silent walk with me there. I loved our walk with cheerful crowd around. That’s love , people – two people can love the same thing with different explanations!
A lady hawker used to sell balloons in front of the pizza hut – big & colorful balloons. Her business used to be great on some Fridays ; other times, she used to sit there without uttering words, silently waiting . She had a beautiful daughter. Most of the time , I found them playing hide and seek game on that busy road.
One day, I thought of buying balloons for my friend’s birthday . I asked for a red, a white and a pink balloon. “How much do all of them cost?“- I asked. ” Rs 15/- Madam.”- She answered.
“You take this one” – whispered the little girl, the daughter , pointing at a blue balloon.
“Why?” – I asked with a smile.
“Because , it’s blue. No one loves a blue balloon. But I love this balloon. It’s like a little sky. If you keep this in your room, you can have your own sky.” – She answered.
I was surprised. In a city where skyscrapers covered up our sky , a little sky was something I really needed.
“But, that’s your favorite. Why do you want to give it to me? “ – I asked.
“Ma won’t let me play with it. So, you take it. It is a beautiful balloon . And you’re beautiful too. Only beautiful people know how to love a balloon. “- She ended.
That little girl’s kindness was contagious.
I bought two blue balloons from her mother ,that day. One , of course I gave her. [ She mentioned to me that they were homeless . “But I love blue sky” – she assured an almost teary-eyed me]
My room had a little blue sky for a while.
I also told my apartment partner about the girl; and later shared the story with my other friends in work place.
Years passed. The boyfriend became my life partner. Together we captured a little sky for us ! And we bought balloons from the same hawker many times [sharing a balloon with her little daughter every time].
Whenever my friends found a street hawker selling balloons they bought all balloons for little homeless girls.
—————————————————————————————————————
In Indian cities, there are countless homeless people surviving summer and winter on footpaths . In winter, they need blankets. In summer , they need water. Those are their basic needs. You alone can help them if you want to ( Of course). [Sometimes , only talking or listening to their stories helps too. We all need listening ears. 🙂 ]
And if you see a little girl there , chasing a butterfly happily – remember , every child loves a toy and a balloon.
——————————————————————————————————————–
Spread the words..
A Journey Called Life ... 
Cool post! 🙂
http://psychosomaticallyinlove.wordpress.com/2014/04/17/trapped/
Thank you so much for stopping by and your comment. Your posts are amazing. I will visit soon again 🙂
Wow, love the balloons. I will take a blue one. Any will do. I like the colored ones like this better than the round mylar? ones they have for sale. Thanks for visiting my blog. Yours is wonderful.
Every time I see balloons , I remember that story too. Actually many friends thought I was crazy when I gave that girl a balloon to play every time I passed by. They said that the girls mother would sell that balloon. But too many complex thoughts make life complicated . No? Thank you for your beautiful words and the readership. 🙂
You have the most beautiful stories, Archita. Everytime I see balloons now I’ll remember this story 🙂
Thank you soo much for your comment . I am happy that you liked it. Yes, small incidents create big memories 🙂
You’re welcome. 🙂 And Thank you for reading and the comment. 🙂
Your story touched my heart with its sincerity and simplicity. Beauty surrounds us, even in the most wretched places or situations; the gift is finding it.
Simply beautiful – thank you for sharing =)
Thank you so much ,Toni, for your comments. No, I haven’t checked them yet. I will do tonight. Thank you for that. 🙂
I am trying to read as many posts as possible on the prompt . I wanted to be inspired by people’s stories on kindness 🙂
I too hope everyone finds her own sky and gets to keep it forever. Thank you for stopping by 🙂
THX for the prompt! Check out the Happster site and The Daily Good website if you haven’t seen them yet. Joy unbridled. Kindness unleashed.
Toni
Thanks for liking my post:). And of course inspiring so many others out there. I hope the little girl finds her blue sky some day..and gets to keep it too
Yes. Her mother used to sell balloons and she had nothing to do except sitting with her.
And thank you vishal for your kind comments and the readership 🙂
beautiful, touching and engaging story about the lil girl selling balloons instead of playing. We live in a ruthless world where thousands homeless children are deprived of a roof and robbed of childhood.
And your happiness is truly contagious… will fetch me some good night’s sleep. 😀
That is something very kind. Made my afternoon happy 😀
Always a pleasure to be around here. 🙂
Thank you tanumoy for the readership and comment . 🙂
Such a beautiful, touching story… touched I shall remain for some time… thank you for this.
How true !:) Thank you soo much 🙂
My Pleasure and Surely we can bring small changes which will someday lead to a better world.. 🙂
That’s extremely nice , harsha. I believe, we ourselves can bring small changes. 🙂 Thank you very much for stopping by and sharing your story. 🙂
That is pretty nice…Really you have shown the value of kindness and how it feels like helping others…and I really do help the needy by whatever means I can….
Aww. Thank you. That is such a big inspiration . 🙂
I have always loved your quote on the top of the header.