When was the last time you encountered an entirely benevolent gesture? Something done from pure motives, with the simple aim of bringing a tiny bit more good into this world?
A good deed is an end in itself. Or it should be. Sometimes good deeds that are done with no ulterior motive can seem in depressingly short supply. But it is my belief that singularly good actions are taken all around us every day, if we only knew where to look.
Every day, good deeds are done.
Every day, people act from an impulse of wanting simply to give, to help, to make things better.
Every day, good deeds are done for their own sake.
Rainbow fountain
I started thinking about such selfless acts the other day, inspired by the loveliest little surprise. My wife and I were watching a recent video from the Seoul Walker YouTube channel, which offers beautifully cinematic walker’s eye views of strolls in, around and through the titular South Korean city.
This particular video depicts a night-time walk to and across the Banpo Bridge. As the walker approaches the bridge, crowds are gathered by river’s edge. I was surprised and delighted when I found out what the crowd were waiting to see.
At a certain point, a row of fountains along the length of the bridge begin to shoot jets of river water into the air. These jets keep going for 20 to 30 minutes, arcing up and down, their relentless rain illuminated and shot through by lights of bright, beautiful and rapidly changing colour.
The effect is enchanting and quite ingenious. A constantly changing rainbow-coloured airborne sculpture that exists only in the moment, formed from water, air and light. Beautiful patterns and shapes are created by the cascading plumes of water as they hit the sky then fall back to the river from which they were drawn.
This could be seen as an endlessly sustainable and environmentally friendly variant on a fireworks display. These water fireworks are all but silent, meaning they will likely not create the same loud noises as fireworks and thereby not frighten animals or small children. There is no need for gunpowder or other explosives, just water pulled from and returned to the river.
Created purely for the sake of beauty
This lovely spectacle is known as the Banpo Bridge Moonlight Rainbow Fountain. A quick spot of googlage informs me that this delightful show takes place multiple times each day.
It struck me while watching this video that what I was witnessing would appear to be an entirely benevolent gesture. A municipal spectacle that is created purely for the sake of beauty. The rainbow fountain harms no-one, is offered to the public for free, and through its inspired mechanics gifts us a uniquely beautiful moment in a likely environmentally neutral manner.
This beautiful lightshow would seem to exist purely to make the world that tiny bit better for any soul that happens upon it.
Every time that this rainbow fountain is run, it would seem to be a good deed done for its own sake. There are many more such good deeds done each day in this world.
Gentle reader: This is where you come in. I would love to know examples of entirely benevolent gestures that you have encountered – recent or all-time favourites, all are welcome. Please do post a comment below, or @ me on the social medium of your choice (Threads, BlueSky, Mastodon, Instagram, even X/Twitter if you’re still on there..).
May you be nothing but kind today, to others and to yourself.
May today be nothing but kind to you and yours.
IMAGES
- Banpo Moonlight Rainbow Fountain via Wikimedia Commons.
- Jamsu Bridge Rainbow Fountain via Wikimedia Commons.
MJCarty 
