This is the last in a wee series of musings on some basic human values that we demonstrated in bucket loads during the height of the Covid pandemic, as outlined in a Guardian article.
The article stressed the need to continue to show these values: respect, patience and honesty.
Kindness is the last of them.
And as the article points out, at the height of the first lockdown, kindness really was all around, to misquote the marvellous Wet Wet Wet.
But the author goes on to point out the importance of continuing to show kindness to each other as we emerge from the latest variation of lockdown and climb back onto the crazy gerbil wheel of life.
When you consider your own experience of the first lock down, what kindnesses can you think of?
Food shopping for folk, and distributing food to those in need.
Sharing technology with those with kids learning from home who had no devices or internet.
Giving that person in the street or in a shop a wave or a kind gesture as we pass, recognising how little contact many of us had and the importance of showing a smile with our eyes.
Checking in on our neighbours or folk in our street who might be isolating or unwell, to see if we could bring them messages or run any errands.
Thanking front line workers, folk in shops, delivery drivers, our postman – roles that perhaps before we had not noticed or taken for granted.
And as lockdown eased the first time, and we were so monumentally grateful to get a hair cut or sit outside a pub in the sun with a friend and a pint, we showed so much kindness and gratitude to those who made it possible.
As life starts to return to something approaching normal, how easy it is to slip into busyness and stop noticing?
Because kindness is all about awareness.
It can be easy to find ourselves caught up in busyness and what is going on right under our own noses. Awareness causes us to stop, lift our eyes and see what is going on around us – the people in front of us and what they need.
And we can then choose to show kindness.
Life is busy and our days are full, and sometimes it is important to keep our heads down and get on and get through. But small acts of kindness rarely take long – that smile, that kind word, that gesture – and lift our mood and remind us that we are part of something bigger.
Last week I received my second Covid vaccine.
I am bionic, fully Astrazeneca-ed.
What was noticeable about Jag 2 was the queue. Jag 1, in and out in less than 25 minutes.
Second time, 90 minute wait in a three-stage queue (you couldn’t see the next bit of the queue so there was always that sense that you were nearly at the needle stage, keeping you in a state of heightened awareness).
Folk in the queue passed the time as best they could – chatting to queuer next to you, reading the paper, texting, clearing emails (me).
But generally, there was a sense of acceptance. I am sure I am not alone in recognising the ENORMITY of the achievement that is the vaccination programme, and the massive privilege of being in that queue.
I add my voice to that of many in saying how much we need a global and equitable distrubution of vaccine so we can all get out of this mess.
But in the waiting there was real kindess.
Kindness and thank yous to the stewards shuffling us forwards to stand on the right spot.
No one kicked off about the inconvenience or the delay. There were a few folk who looked grumpily resigned to standing for that long. But generally there was an acceptance that if the country’s population is going to get vaccinated, it is going to take time to get through the sheer numbers involved.
As I look back through years of musings on here, I see that I have written about kindness a lot.
So I leave you this week with some food for thought and reflection, as we consider how to continue to show kindness each day.
What do we want to model to those around us? Kindness is an important attribute that is more powerful when witnessed rather than simply spoken about. And when we notice and count acts of kindness of which we are in receipt, our perspective is one of gratitude and generosity. More on that here.
Why is kindness the most selfish thing you can do? Find out here.
And when we think about the mess the world is in, rather than becoming overwhelmed and sticking our heads in the sand, we can make a difference in our own way with kindness. You can read more on that here.
In a world where you can be anything, be kind.”
That phrase went viral a while ago. It is a choice we make each moment, each day as we lift our eyes and really notice those around us. How much do we want to be on the receiving end of being noticed by someone, and receiving kindness? And therefore how much fun to do that for others.
And finally, as we go back to those kindnesses displayed at the height of the pandemic, we can chose to give away kindness to others in lots of different ways. You can find lots of ideas on this here.
Kindness is the simplest of things but so powerful. How does that impact you this week?