When in the middle of the forest, when a tree falls, and no one is there to hear the sound, is the sound actually there? This is an old age question and philosophers have pondered this question for a long time.

The adage can also hold some truth for those who are passing on an act of kindness. Do they do so because it is the right thing to do as dictated by their heart, or is it an act that is motiviated by their head.

If one is hermit and lives alone, with no responsibilities, he only has to think of how he would move through the day for himself. Each action that he takes only impacts himself and the things around him, plants and animals. He moves through his daily ritual with an unconscious effort as he has done so many times before. His life is very predictable. He gives reverence to the plants that impacts him and pays attention to the animals that he meets, and should he need to consume them, he expresses appreciation for their contribution to his life. So goes the daily life of the  hermit, until, he must interact with another human being.

Now the many years of solitude must give way to a new arrival. Confusion and moreso, distrust follows. If the human is smaller or non threating, the hermit may feel a superiortiy over it, since the human can see that he can vanquish the small being. If the human is larger, then fear and distrust sets in the mind of the hermit. So, how can the hermit extend generosity and kindness to the other human? How can the hermit truly give to the other human? This can be done with feelings from the heart, and not the mind.

The mind tells us from the many years of breeding and learning how to react to social settings. The heart is the only tool that does not give us any clues as to how we should behave. The heart introduces us to many emotions that links two people together, yet these emotions would not exist if there were only one person. Emotions like hate, jealousy, envy, etc need two people to exist before the emotions can occur.

So, when one wishes to pass forward an act of kindness, there first must be another who is the recipient of the act. And when one passes the act, there must a mental act that exist to motivate the action. And when the mind dictates the heart now must take a back seat to the mind. Therefore the act of kindness is not truly an act of kindness, but is motivated by the mind and one is waiting  for another to acknowledge the act, and when that occurs there are strings attached to the act.

Moral here: give from the heart, where there is no recognition except yourself, or give from the mind and wait for the results.