The Power of Kindness

1. The Power of Kindness Ghada AbuKhamsin English 1102

2. Introduction • When trying to define power, people would have different opinions about what power means to them. Each person would have his or her own definition according to their age, gender, living circumstances and many other factors. I’ve spent half a day trying to agree on one item or idea that represents power to me. Does power have to be something that controls others’ actions or opinions? That’s what my partners and I came to agree on in English class. But now that I think of it, power doesn’t have to be controlling as much as it has to have effects on others.

3. For me, controlling cannot be a positive action. Even when thinking of controlling as a mean of discipline, I still see it as a negative thing. On the other hand, having an effect on others’ actions can be a positive act. Unlike controlling, effects can be inspirational. A random act of kindness might have a small effect on the person whose the act been done on, this small effect is how I personally define what power is. For instance, imagine you were driving to your home after a long stressful day at work, then out of no where, a stranger smiled at you with a look that said: “it will pass, you can do it, it will be fine” then your mood had lightened up a bit. This is an act of kindness from the stranger to you. There’s a quote written by Catherine Ryan Hyde from her book pay It Forward,she says: “There is no wrong way to perform an act of kindness.”(Hyde)

4. In English class, we were asked to collect images that form a visual representation of our definition of power. I had collected more than 20 images that fit into my definition. The first picture I chose had literally frozen me for a second because I’ve been seeing this picture a lot in the media but I never thought of it the way I did this time. I started looking at it as if it was a completely different picture. And that’s the significance of this project. It made me analyze pictures in a different way, and instead of looking at the picture; I actually started looking at what’s behind this picture. The details, that is what people in the picture think, what are their stories, is what makes a picture speaks a thousand words.

5. The photojournalist LefterisPitarakis has documented a great act of kindness that took place in Egypt during the Egyptian revolution. I’ve seen this picture many times before, but I’ve never stared at it this long. What I see now is an old lady that decided to treat the riot police as one of her sons. I see a human who saw humanity in the other. I see a mother who knew that an act of kindness would affect people instead of shouting and being angry at them.

6. My second favorite picture was taken in Denmark after a cat was saved by a fireman. The way the man was holding the cat and the look on the cat’s face makes this picture so breath-taking. It makes people think of how much others appreciate any offered help. Just like humans, animals are affected by kindness actions. And that’s one major theme in the pictures I chose for my project.

7. Kindness can be done at any time and any place. It’s not limited by anything. Everyone is able to give and show kindness to others. If you just look around of you, you’d certainly find a way to do an act of kindness. The picture of a women in a wheelchair feeding pigeons and enjoying doing so explains my point. This leads to another idea that people who do good will be affected themselves. It’s like a rewarded action because it makes the giver and the receiver feel better.

9. Image #1Finding the good in Everyone • Topic: An Egyptian anti-government activist kisses a riot police officer following clashes in Cairo, Egypt. • Image Sub-Genre: Photograph • Mode: Informative. • Found Where: NBC news. • Found How: Via NBC website. • Why Select This Image? I selected this image because I think that every person can find something good in the other. And I also believe that when people treat others with love and kindness, they will be affected, and it might change them to be better people.

10. What Does This Image State About Power? The Power of Kindness and Giving. • Why Do You State So? I think that the lady decided to kiss the police on his cheek instead of being angry because she believed that all humans should be treated with love.

12. Image #2Saving The Cat • Topic: A firefighter saves a cat from the fire in Aabenraa, Denmark. • Image Sub-Genre: Photograph. • Mode: Informative. • Found Where: Web. • Found How: Via Google. • Why Select This Image? I chose the photo because of the emotions presented in it. The firefighter holding the cat so tightly and she looks very scared and it seems like she’s thankful for being saved by the fireman.

13. What Does This Image State About Power? The Power of Kindness and Giving. • Why Do You State So? Because it seems like the fireman not only knew that the cat had to be saved from the fire, but he also hugged her and made her feel safe which showed how kind he was.

15. Image #3Helping despite Difficulties • Topic: Woman on a wheelchair feeding birds • Image Sub-Genre: Photograph • Mode: Informative • Found Where: Dreamstime.com • Found How: Via Google. • Why Select This Image? I selected it because it’s an example of how kindness can be done by anyone without any limits.

16. What Does This Image State About Power? The Power of Kindness and Giving. • Why Do You State So? Because when others look at people who are on wheelchairs, they think that they need help while this women is actually giving birds food as an act of kindness. Besides, the women looks like she’s having fun offering birds help. I think the image is very powerful and inspiring, and it gives people hope.

17. TRACE • Text: It’s a photograph, and it’s unique as much as it’s inspiring , because the women who’s doing the act of kindness is on a wheelchair. • Reader: The picture was published online so the audience must be the whole world. I don’t think that the photographer had an intention to change anyone’s mind by taking this picture. • Author: The photographer is called Genlady. I’m not sure if the picture was for a campaign for disabilities or not, but I think the photographer meant to show people that even if life wasn’t easy, you still can enjoy it. • Constraints: The idea was received successfully by the readers even though it’s not stated by words but by the smile on the women’s face. The fact that the women looks happy makes the reader thinks that she is having a good time. • Exigence: The author might or might not have asked the women to smile to make his point. But that smile was the significance of his picture.

19. Image #4A Cat in The Floods • Topic: A cat seeking help • Image Sub-Genre: Photograph • Mode: Informative. • Found Where: Muskegonpundit.blogspot.com • Found How: Via Google • Why Select This Image? It shows that animals sometimes need people, and that people need to give help to whomever needs it.

20. What Does This Image State About Power? The Power of Kindness and Giving. • Why Do You State So? Because if we took a minute to look around us, we’d find a lot of those who need help. People during disaster lose their lives or their precious things, so they’d accept any kind of help. The cat looks like she’s seeking help to stay alive.

22. Image #5Saving Kittens from The Floods • Topic: A man saves four kittens and their mother from the floods that have affected around 700,00 people in India. • Image Sub-Genre: Photograph • Mode: Informative. • Found Where: Reddit.com • Found How: Via Google. • Why Select This Image? Similar to the previous one, this man didn’t only think of saving people, he also saved the kittens affected by the floods. Those kittens were found with their mother and the man saved them all. He deserves to be called a hero.

23. What Does This Image State About Power? The Power of Kindness and Giving. • Why Do You State So? I think that the picture is powerful because it captured the moment when the man saved the lives of four kittens with their mother. It represents an act of kindness where the cats are the receiver and I believe that the man will be rewarded for his act one way or another.

25. Image #6Sharing • Topic: A monk sharing his meal with a tiger. • Image Sub-Genre: Photograph • Mode: Informative. • Found Where: Wordpress Blog. • Found How: Via Google. • Why Select This Image? I selected it because I thought it shows how strong friendship can be between humans and animals even if they were wild.

26. What Does This Image State About Power? The Power of Kindness and Giving. • Why Do You State So? The monk shared his meal with the tiger, as if they were real friends. In Thailand, there’s a temple called WatPhaLuang Ta Bua, where Buddhist monks live peacefully with tigers. The reason why I believe the picture is an act of kindness is because the monks in this temple feed tigers and protect them from any danger. Only orphan tigers are brought to that temple to be protected.

27. Trace • Text: The text is a photograph. The fact that the monk is sitting with one of the most wild animals makes it unique. • Reader: The intended audience is everyone including myself. Since I’m a lover of animals and big cats, I think that I’d certainly love the idea of visiting that temple. • Author: The photographer is Wojtek Kalka. The author says that he always tries to capture the beauty of moments and I think he’s succeeded this time.

28. Constraints: What influence the photographer is the moment where the monk and the tiger was sitting together as old friends sharing a meal. The reader received the picture as an example of possible friendship between wild animals and humans. The author also might have intended to let people know about this temple for it’s actually open for tourists. • Exigence: The author was involved in this message as he was the one who shared this picture with the whole world through the internet.

30. Image #7Taking Care of Animals • Topic: An Old Women Nursing A kitten in the streets. • Image Sub-Genre: Photograph • Mode: Informative. • Found Where: Devianart.com • Found How: Via Deviantart.com. • Why Select This Image? I chose it because the photographer stated that he found that the women was homeless, and she’s taking care of that kitten that seems to be left alone.

31. What Does This Image State About Power? The Power of Kindness and Giving. • Why Do You State So? Because it shows how people, no matter where or how they live, can be kinddespite all of the difficulties.

32. PARADIGM • Piece: It’s a photograph found in Deviantart website, it was taken in 2006 as the photographer stated. It shows an old women nursing a kitten • Agent: The photographer uses the nickname Oscarsnapshotter, he can be reached through his Deviantart account. • Receiver: The photograph was mainly presented to the people who follow the photographer profile, but it’s a public profile so the photo was spread all over the internet. I personally looked at it as an example of kindness and caring. • Agenda: People in the comments section were talking about the fact that the women was a mendicant in the streets of Istanbul. There might be a bias about those people in the streets.

33. Demands: I think the photographer meant to show people that people living in the streets are kind unlike what others believe of them. By reading some of the comments, I think the photographer has successfully sent his message and people were talking about their experiences with homeless people and how kind they were to them. • Inquiries: I actually only read the comments to know if the photographer had asked the women for permission to take the picture because the picture shows her face. I don’t think he had any intention to manipulate the audience. In fact, I think he only wanted to capture a sweet moment that he’s seen randomly. • Gains: The image was a good support to my theme which is kindness. The giver is a homeless women and the receiver is a homeless cat. I understood from this picture that no matter what the circumstances are, people who are normally kind will never hesitate to help those in need even if they didn’t have to. • Motivators: The picture looks spontaneous, and I think the photographer was lucky enough to capture that moment. It looks like it was something people see everyday but he decided to show it to other people on the internet.

35. Image #8A Smile • Topic: A little girl playing with her grandfather. • Image Sub-Genre: Photograph • Mode: Informative. • Found Where: 1x.com • Found How: Via Google. • Why Select This Image? Because I liked how happy both of them looked, and I think this kind of pictures bring joy to people who look at it.

36. What Does This Image State About Power? The Power of Kindness and Giving. • Why Do You State So? Because I like the fact that the grandfather is looking so happy with the little girl, which is also a kind act. They both look equally happy which shows that kindness can bring happiness.

38. Image #9A Prayer in Tahrir Square • Topic: A group of Christian youths protecting Muslims while they were performing a prayer during the Egyptian revolution. • Image Sub-Genre: Photograph • Mode: Informative. • Found Where: Flickr.com • Found How: Flickr.com • Why Select This Image? I selected it because. People can be kind to each other despite all of the differences. And again, I’ve seen something in it that I’ve never seen before.

39. What Does This Image State About Power? The Power of Kindness and Giving. • Why Do You State So? I’ve always thought of it as an inspiring picture. But now that I think about it in terms of power, I think that the power of kindness brought people together throughout the whole revolution. When people think of different religions the might think of conflicts between them, but those youths prove them wrong.

41. Image #10A Helping Hand • Topic: Helping each other. • Image Sub-Genre: Drawing. • Mode: Persuasive. • Found Where: Photobucket.com • Found How: Photobucket.com • Why Select This Image? Because it’s a representation of unity between people from all over the world.

42. What Does This Image State About Power? The Power of Kindness and Giving. • Why Do You State So? I think that the artist wanted to show people the importance of unity. The drawing shows hands of people with different skin colors and regions coming together and holding hands as a representation of unity and peacefulness. And I believe that kindness help people to achieve unity.

43. How Do My Pictures Fit Together? • I’ve chosen pictures that represent different effects of kindness, and pictures that shows how much others need help. I tried to mix different types of kindness together, for example, the kindness that is performed naturally because of the human nature, and other type of kindness where people choose to perform it because they knew the others needed it. I also chose pictures that I believed were meant to inspire others to act kindly and grow a feeling of hope inside the audience’s heart.

44. Peer-Reviw Post-It Notes

45. Bibliography • El-Hamalawy, Hossam. Maghrib Prayer in Tahrir Square. 2011. Flickr , Egypt. Web. 14 Feb 2013. <http://www.flickr.com/photos/87153545@N00/6387080191>. • Genlady. Girl On Wheelchair Feeds Birds. 2009. Dreamstime.comWeb. 14 Feb 2013. <http://www.dreamstime.com/photos-images/girl-wheelchair-feeds-birds.html>. • Gylling, Søren. The Eyes Says It All. 2013. www.reddit.com, Aabenraa, Denmark. Web. 13 Feb 2013. <http://www.reddit.com/r/aww/comments/16khku/the_eyes_says_it_all/?sort=old>. • Kadriozcan, . Childhood. 2010. n.p. Web. 14 Feb 2013. <http://1x.com/photos/latest-additions/38037/>. • Kalka, Wojtek. Monk and Tiger sharing their meal. 2012. Beauty of Life By Jude Al-SafadiLensesWeb. 14 Feb 2013.

46. Oscarsnapshotter. A Mendicant Feeding Nursing In Beyazit Square . 2007. n.p. Web. 14 Feb 2013. <http://oscarsnapshotter.deviantart.com/art/Kitty-72016625?q=gallery:oscarsnapshotter/7024572&qo=127>. • Pitarakis, Lefteris. Demonstrator Kisses the Police. 2011. NBC News, Egypt. Web. 14 Feb 2013. <http://photoblog.nbcnews.com/_news/2011/01/28/5941833-demonstrations-in-egypt-turn-violent-while-some-demonstrators-kiss-the-police>. • Rout, Biswaranjan. Kittens Hero. 2011. Reddit, India. Web. 14 Feb 2013. <http://imgur.com/vr6tT>. • Unknown. A Kitten In The Floods . 2007. n.p. Web. 14 Feb 2013. <http://muskegonpundit.blogspot.com/2011/11/dont-you-forget-about-me.html>. • Unknown, . Helping Hand. N.d.PhotobucketWeb. 14 Feb 2013. <http://media.beta.photobucket.com/user/mlisting/media/Helping-Hands-graphic.jpg.html?filters[term]=helping hands&filters[primary]=images&sort=1&o=25>.

47. In the end, I’d like to present to you a few quotes by famous inspirational people about kindness: “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle.” ― Plato “Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.” ― Mark Twain “Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love.” ― Lao Tzu “You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson “No one has ever become poor by giving.” ― Anne Frank, diary of Anne Frank “The simplest acts of kindness are by far more powerful then a thousand heads bowing in prayer.” ― Mahatma Gandhi The end 03-01-2013