“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.”
– Aesop
Some time in 2001, the renowned musician Steve Vai had a guest in his home. It was Mike Einziger, the guitarist for Incubus.
Incubus had only recently had their mainstream breakthrough with their album Make Yourself, after nearly a decade in the industry. They were now in the process of recording Morning View, which would turn out to be another one of their seminal albums.
Somewhere along their conversation, Mike noticed a strange instrument in one corner of his home. In passing, he asked Steve, “What is that?”
Steve explained that it was a traditional Chinese instrument called the pipa, a four-stringed lute. Steve had gotten it as a gift sometime during his tour in Asia.
Soon after that, they moved to different topics in their conversation. But just before Mike got up to leave that day, Steve packed the pipa and handed it to him.
Naturally, Mike’s instinct was to refuse the gift. After all, it could have had sentimental value for Steve. And not least, it must have been unthinkable for Mike to receive a gift from an esteemed musician that he so admired, such as Steve Vai.
“Woah, I can’t take that from you,” he told Steve.
“No, no, no, take it,” Steve said. “Just promise me you’ll write something cool with it.”
Mike brought his pipa with him to the studio, and after unpacking it for the first time and fiddling with it, he and the band spent all night writing the closing song for Morning View, titled Aqueous Transmission.
Imbued with Asian flavors, the song evokes the relaxing sensation of literally floating down a river in a small boat. And in line with the album’s overarching theme of spirituality, the song figuratively captures the feeling of peaceful acceptance, of surrendering one’s self to a higher power that oversees life’s ebbs and flows.
The song has since become a fan-favorite, though it makes its appearance in concerts only every once in a while.
The lesson from this story is simple, and that is, never underestimate the gift of giving.
You never know how far an act of kindness could help another person in their journey. Of course, for Mike Einziger, Steve Vai’s generous act of gifting him the pipa led to the writing of one of Incubus’s most cherished tracks.
But an act of kindness doesn’t have to be that “significant”. Even the simplest everyday gestures can make a big difference in another person’s life.
A warm smile to a stranger could brighten the rest of their day. A sincere “thank you” to a colleague could improve their morale, and make them feel that their work is worthwhile. A small donation to a person in need could help sustain themselves, or at least, remind them that they are not alone in their struggle.
And the thing is, the gift of giving applies not only to the receiver, but to the giver as well.
A by-product of giving to others is that you would feel more fulfilled. Paradoxically, fulfillment comes not in having a closet full of things, but in recognizing that your needs are actually few, and in being willing to give some of your things away to people who need them more than you do.
Also — call it the karmic cycle if you wish — but the more we give, the more good we receive in return. The more fulfilled we already feel, the more blessings we get from unexpected sources.
This is in line with Islamic beliefs, in that the act of giving doesn’t decrease our wealth in any way (Hadith verified by Muslim). And that with every kind deed that we do for others, God will return the favor and multiply it for ourselves (Quran, 57:18).
Many years after Mike’s visit to Steve’s home, they got in touch again through email. Steve mentioned that he would often listen to Aqueous Transmission on repeat. But until that email exchange, he never realized that his old pipa was used in the recording of the song.
It was funny, yet beautiful, to know that his selfless act of kindness blessed him in return, in the form of one of his favorite songs.
Izzat Zailan 