small, consistent gestures of kindness change the world. people are constantly telling me how nice I am, which used to really surprise me, because I was just acting the way I was raised.

I grew up with a mother who always planted extra tomatoes so she would have some to give to the neighbors and who would ask the elderly woman across the street if she wanted anything from the store. In India, where my mom is from, she saw her own mother routinely do small acts of kindness - she would always make an extra roti or two to give to the hungry stray dogs and she'd always gather up any leftovers from meals for the local beggars.

I always give up my seat to a pregnant woman or an elderly person and hold the door open for someone carrying packages. I routinely fill dishes of water for the birds and wee critters in my back yard and, in the spring, after brushing my dog's hair I toss it on the wind so that the birds can use it to line their nests.

It astonished me one time when I was in New York City and this black man was struggling on the sidewalk trying to get his crutches and people just walked by. I stopped to help him and he said he'd been lying there for several minutes. That just astonished me. He said it was because he was black. I couldn't believe it. Who cares about skin color when someone on crutches falls down? You just give them a hand and move on. It takes half a second.