Some of life's finest acts begin where obligation ends

Over Labor Day Weekend, Michael Hamtil and his 13-year-old son stood on a rocky cave ledge overlooking the Current River in Missouri's Ozarks. They counted to three and jumped into the cold, spring-fed water. Later that evening, Michael noticed something was missing: the wedding ring he'd worn for 18 years.

Michael returned the next day to search himself, but his prospects of finding the ring were slim. The underwater cave system beneath him plunges an estimated 140 feet.

Nevertheless, he posted online offering a $250 reward to anyone who could find it.

What were the chances that someone ... anyone ... would even try, under such circumstances, to find a stranger's lost wedding ring?

✨3 Ideas

1. “…and more”

We owe one another honesty, fairness, and basic consideration. These obligations make relationships and communities possible. But there is a dimension of kindness that begins where obligation ends.

The soul often reveals itself in what we choose to give beyond what is required.

The extra phone call, the unexpected gift, the few additional minutes we didn’t have to give become our “… and more.” Such acts often bring a warmth to human relationships that duty alone cannot provide.

2. Beyond the comfort zone

Exceptional kindness usually asks something more of us -- less convenience, more time, or sometimes greater courage. It begins when we could reasonably say, “I’ve done enough,” but choose to take another step.

Kindness gives. Exceptional kindness expands the boundaries of the heart.

Helping someone cross the street is an act of kindness; doing so in a pouring rain asks something more. What makes an act exceptional isn’t necessarily its size, but the distance we go beyond what is comfortable.

3. More than we think

We may imagine exceptional kindness as something practiced only by exceptional people. But perhaps we underestimate the capacity of the human soul to reach beyond the limits we place upon ourselves.

There is more within us than the boundaries of our comfort would have us believe.

Imagine choosing five people each day and calling each one just to ask how they’re doing. Twenty or thirty minutes a day for two weeks would touch the lives of 70 people. It’s ambitious. But it’s also something almost any of us could do if we truly decided to.

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📜2 Quotes

“Love your neighbor/friend as yourself …”
— Leviticus 19:18

“Always be a little kinder than necessary.”
— James M. Barrie, Scottish novelist

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❓1 Question

Can you think of a time when you did something kind for someone -- but looking back, realize you could have gone just a little further?

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Jason Simpkins saw the post about the lost wedding ring. He enlisted his brother Tim, who, like Jason, was a certified mine diver. The brothers drove a couple of hours to the Current River, carried wetsuits and diving equipment along an unmarked trail, and entered the cold water to search with an underwater metal detector.

After searching for some time, Tim surfaced with a silver glint in his hand. Michael’s wedding ring had been buried four inches beneath the silt in only 7 or 8 feet of water.

The $250 reward barely covered their travel expenses. The brothers hauled diving equipment through difficult terrain and entered cold water, prepared for a search that might take them as far as 140 feet down -- all for someone they had never met.

But perhaps the most meaningful distance they traveled was the distance beyond what anyone could reasonably have expected.

Until next time,
Wishing you a week of going a little farther than kindness requires,

Rabbi Ze'ev Smason

P.S. Can you recall a time when someone went far beyond what you expected to help you? How did it make you feel? I’d love to hear that story.