Full Life Expedition

The other day, I happened to leave a store. It was already past 11 a.m. of a mid-June day, which in Rome means that summer is making its presence felt, and quite strongly. The sun was high, bringing with it the temperature rise. The tall buildings and narrow streets of the city center prevented any breeze from passing through, and the smog made breathing difficult. As I walked down the street to get to my car, I came across a lady with grocery bags. She had only two bags, but glancing at them out of the corner of my eye while checking my emails on my phone, I unconsciously registered that they must have been quite heavy. Seeing that an elderly lady’s hands were tightly gripping the bags, I instinctively thought of approaching her to offer help, but I stopped myself before I could do it. A thousand reasons not to do it swirled through my mind in a split second: the lady was probably used to that route and carrying groceries, she might feel embarrassed, or worse yet, living in a big city where thieves target the most vulnerable people to deceive them in every way possible, she might think that I wanted to approach her to lure and rob her.

So, I decided to do nothing and passed by her after a few moments.

But after just two more steps, I heard heavy breathing behind me. I turned around and saw a deeply wrinkled, very old and terribly pale face. The lady was struggling and visibly having difficulty with the weight of the bags, the heat under the sun, and the lack of clean air. I hadn’t been able to hear her breathing or see the strain on her face from behind.

In an instant, all my reservations burst like a soap bubble, and I immediately approached her to offer my help in carrying the groceries wherever she needed to go. As I had initially imagined, she looked surprised and then simply thanked me, saying she didn’t need any help. I was about to insist, but fortunately, we were practically in front of her gate, and as we entered, she continued thanking me, explaining that the heat had made things a bit difficult for her.

I bid her farewell and continued on my way.

Who knows how many people along her route might have crossed paths with her, even more so from the opposite side, and being able to clearly see her strained face, but too engrossed with their own phones, tasks, or problems. Perhaps my own thoughts had stopped them, or they were simply not accustomed to acts of kindness towards strangers.

History teaches us that we are a social species, lacking claws or teeth to defend ourselves, but over millennia of evolution, our only strengths have been our brains and our social living, creating ever larger communities to organize, work, and protect one another. Where one failed, another succeeded by offering their knowledge. When someone fell ill, someone else took care of them, giving rise to the figure of the shaman and later the doctor, effectively extending life expectancy from 25-30 years to 70.

And I realize how in recent times we are becoming increasingly individualistic, more self-centered, and more distrustful of others, regressing in the evolution of millennia of history.

I don’t solely blame social media, even though they are starting to immerse especially young people in a virtual world, connected to the internet but disconnected from reality, flattening everything that is most alive—emotions, communication with others, life itself. But I primarily blame the dark side of our human nature, the pure malevolence that leads us to perform actions that shock and influence our way of relating to others, always thinking that there might be a downside to every social interaction with anyone.

Let us remember to remain human. An act of kindness towards others doesn’t necessarily

have to be motivated by anything; it could save someone’s life or simply make their day brighter, especially if there are children or elderly people on the other side.

An act of kindness towards others benefits them and benefits us. It keeps us human, empathetic, and improves our way of seeing things and seeing ourselves.

Sometimes, a smile, a thank you, or a good morning is all it takes.

An act of kindness helps us stay human.