Act of Kindness

We’ve been living on this little Island of the Gods for a long time now. And I still love being here, deeply. It even seems as if I’m becoming more Indonesian with each passing year, at least that’s what my German friends say when they haven’t seen me for a while. And honestly, I feel it too. By now I chat away in Indonesian slang quite convincingly. It really does make you feel more like one of them. And in the end, I am a full-blooded Indonesian anyway, made in Germany, tho.

Still, sometimes I ask myself: How much of my German self do I still carry inside me?

Maybe it shows in moments when big problems arise, then I become German again: clear, structured, pushy, a bit hard.

And when those same problems appear much smaller after many sunrises, I slip right back into my Indonesian hippie self.

What moves me here, again and again, are the many wealthy Westerners who live on this island as if it belonged to them. And yet their entire everyday life rests on the shoulders of the locals and the locals’ lives, in turn, depend on theirs.

A quiet dependency that hardly anyone ever names.

Most people see only the shiny Bali.

But the suffering lies in the places where almost no one ever goes.

Finding your footing between those two worlds takes time.

Maybe that’s why I’m so grateful for our work with One Chance.

It keeps us connected to those people who so often remain unseen.

Thanks to you, we’re able to offer at least a little help.

What I feel in those moments?

Gratitude for my privileged life. A lump in my throat. Love. Warmth. And again and again that small sense of guilt that I’m not doing more.

But what would “more” even be? Is share-ity the cure for the world? Certainly not. Pure money flowing in from the West often deepens the imbalance rather than easing it.

Isn’t it enough to simply be human in our own everyday lives? “Be kind to each other,” I say to my children so often. But am I kind enough myself?

In a world that seems completely unhinged at times, kindness is needed more than ever. Kindness melts the ice in daily life, in business meetings, at the checkout counter, in a restaurant…

It works miracles. It brings a smile. It softens the air between two people. It makes us feel good, strokes the ego just a little, creates connection, and shifts the mood instantly.

Kindness requires practice and sincerity. It brings us into the present moment, helps us actually feel what is happening. And it protects us from hurting others because none of us knows the invisible baggage the person in front of us is carrying.

I truly believe that kindness can make the world a little better.

Just like with Ibu Made from the Sari Hati School, whom we were able to support in clearing her debt. Whenever she sees me, she calls out: “You beautiful one. You get prettier every time.”

Every single time it makes me smile. My nervous system softens, becomes calm, peaceful. Not for the entire day, but for a small, precious moment that I carry with me like a little light to pass on to someone else in the form of a compliment.

For example, to that radiant girl at the Sari Hati School, so diligent, so devoted,crafting the offering baskets with such care.