Close Enough to Hear the Sound of Our Breath

By Dr jarlat Uche opara

Yesterday, life leaned close and whispered a lesson to me. It reminded me how small this world truly is how the universe, vast as it seems, behaves like a village where everyone eventually meets everyone else. We are connected in ways we barely notice.

Threads unseen, yet firm.

Be nice to people. Just be nice..Not because they deserve it..Not because it benefits you immediately.

But because kindness costs nothing and yet pays dividends we never planned for.

Watch your words. They travel faster than your feet. The one your tongue bruises today may be the one holding the cup of water you will desperately need tomorrow , water that restores breath, clarity, and life itself, in a blink.

Being kind does not subtract from you. It adds.
It deposits quiet credits into the bank of memory.
And one day, without warning, you will need to make a withdrawal.

I was invited recently by a parishioner who wanted me to help facilitate something for him. We sat talking in his living room, relaxed, ideas flowing. Then his wife walked in. I thought I was seeing her for the first time. Apparently, I was wrong.

As my host tried to introduce me, she smiled with familiarity and gently interrupted. I knew him from church. He had once been the catechist
“No, not the catechist,” I interjected quickly. “The PRO, ma’am.”

That was when she reached into my past and pulled out a moment I had long forgotten.
After the 10:15 am Mass some weeks earlier, I had met three women standing and chatting.

Two were familiar. One was not. She was introduced to me as my sister. I asked where she was from. Her answer placed her town just beyond our borders.

And in response, I did what people do when they feel relaxed and human. She isn’t from my place. I said and followed by a calculated warm and proud projection of my place. I joked. I exaggerated its virtues a little. We laughed. Then I walked away—thinking nothing of it.

That woman was the same woman standing in the living room, looking at me with recognition.while the husband tried to introduce me as his new friend.

Imagine, just imagine, if I had been harsh that day.
If my words had been sharp with arrogance.
If pride had crept into my tone. If I had tried to diminish where she came from just to elevate myself.

The polished floor beneath my feet would have felt like quicksand. Shame would have dressed me better than my clothes.That moment settled something in my spirit.
Be good to people. All people. You never know where tomorrow’s meeting place will be.

You never know whose help will arrive wearing the face of a stranger you once met briefly maybe after Mass, maybe in passing, maybe without importance.

Kindness travels ahead of us. It waits quietly at intersections we haven’t reached yet.

And when life brings us close enough to hear the sound of each other’s breath, may it find us already remembered for good, bringing back good memories not one that would bring pains, disaffection and emotional aches.

Be nice it costs nothing!

Jarlathuche@gmail.com