The Power of Kindness

I’m conscious of the fact that many of my millennial colleagues have not seen a fax in their life.

But here’s one fax I stumbled across recently that caught my attention. It was sent to me 25 years ago by a former mentor – the late John R Caldon.

At the time of sending, John was the Deputy MD of Macquarie Group and I was a low-level executive on leave for a health-related issue.

Somehow, in his busy schedule, John found time to send a note to encourage me to get better and get back into the fray.

What’s interesting is, at the time of writing, John and I only knew each other in passing. Our friendship developed many months later, no doubt in part because of his inspirational gesture.

The note must have meant a lot to me because I kept the fax and stored it away.

This is the power of kindness – charged, as it is, with the “huge, weak power of grass to split rock.”

Kindness for me is a form of immortality. Every act of kindness ripples from individual to individual and from generation to generation, onto all eternity.

So never underestimate the potential of a kind gesture to uplift and inspire.

Some kind acts will be remembered, most will be forgotten – but all, without exception, will birth a smile and breathe a little hope into the future.
I’m conscious of the fact that many of my millennial colleagues have not seen a fax in their life.

But here’s one fax I stumbled across recently that caught my attention. It was sent to me 25 years ago by a former mentor – the late John R Caldon.

At the time of sending, John was the Deputy MD of Macquarie Group and I was a low-level executive on leave for a health-related issue.

Somehow, in his busy schedule, John found time to send a note to encourage me to get better and get back into the fray.

What’s interesting is, at the time of writing, John and I only knew each other in passing. Our friendship developed many months later, no doubt in part because of his inspirational gesture.

The note must have meant a lot to me because I kept the fax and stored it away.

This is the power of kindness – charged, as it is, with the “huge, weak power of grass to split rock.”

Kindness for me is a form of immortality. Every act of kindness ripples from individual to individual and from generation to generation, onto all eternity.

So never underestimate the potential of a kind gesture to uplift and inspire.

Some kind acts will be remembered, most will be forgotten – but all, without exception, will birth a smile and breathe a little hope into the future.