I love this poem by Emily Dickinson:
If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.[i]
She suggests that life doesn’t have to be filled with big accomplishments to matter. If she can comfort a broken heart, ease someone’s pain, or “help one fainting robin unto his nest again,” then her life will not have been lived in vain. These are small, everyday acts, but she treats them as deeply meaningful. Her message feels gentle and realistic; kindness doesn’t have to be grand to count. Helping others, even in the simplest ways, is enough to give life purpose.
In these short verses, she reinforces the deep underlying theme that acts of kindness deeply impact the lives of the giver and receiver.
[i] Emilydickinson.com