A Story about a Little Kindness that Made a Big Difference for Me

I visited the rainforest in Ecuador a few years ago.

The group I was with stopped at a café for lunch before entering the jungle.

During that lunch, I managed to cut my finger while opening a plastic bottle. It was a small cut, and I didn’t think much of it.

Until it got infected. It got bad quick.

By then we’d been in the rainforest for a few days. My concern grew as my finger became red and swollen.

Fortunately, a woman in my group was a nurse, and she’d brought antibiotics and antiseptic wipes, which she gave to me.

Just as quickly as my cut had become infected, the infection subsided, and my finger ended up healing fully.

There’s so much to be grateful for in that simple experience: antibiotics and access to them, the comforts and conveniences of living where I do in the developed world, and the kindness of strangers.

I suspect that the nurse who helped me probably never thinks about the help she gave me. To her it was likely no big deal.

But without her (or if I’d gotten a similar injury in an earlier time), I might have lost my finger, my whole hand, or even my life.

I also suspect that you, as you go throughout your days, are providing help to others that has a bigger positive impact than you know.

And it will carry forward forever.