Talking to people about kindness is a joy. Every time I do it, I realise just how much fun I’m having and how much it makes me smile.
For the past two years I have been running a programme called Time for Kindness to encourage people to see kindness in the world around them. My team and I recently took part in the University of Reading’s inaugural community festival.
We ran an activity called Share Your Story, asking visitors to tell us about acts of kindness they had been involved in. We invited them to record their story in words or pictures.
During the day we had so many fantastic, uplifting conversations. Some people had been on the receiving end of a kind act and others had done something kind themselves.
We heard about kindness such as:
- A student whose umbrella broke in the rain and a passing stranger gave her an umbrella to use for the rest of her journey home
- A lady from Ukraine who came to the UK to stay with a host family and was overwhelmed by the welcome she received
- A thoughtful cleaner at the hospital who bought chocolate for someone who was waiting for their young nephew while he had a heart operation
- A person who held the door open for someone with a walking stick so that they could more easily pass through.
By the end of the festival day we had around 50 drawings and post-it notes displayed on our whiteboard.
Positive conversations
Time and again people said: “We need positive conversations like this”. As they spoke, their eyes lit up and they smiled and laughed. They talked about feeling connections through kindness and as a result we felt connected to each other too.
Our stall had a pop-up banner with a few example stories on it. Festival visitors stopped to read it and that sparked memories of their own positive experiences.
It was a virtuous circle of reading something that made them smile, followed by adding something to the whiteboard for others to be inspired by.
Kindness ambassadors
The whole event had a friendly, family atmosphere with people of all ages enjoying the day. Our stall was visited by children, parents, grandparents, students and friends. They all had kind stories they wanted to talk about.
It was striking that whatever age or background a person had, they were able to find a story to share with us. They could be part of the conversation.
By noticing what’s happening in the world around us and telling other people about the things we have seen, we can all contribute to a conversation about kindness. And the more we talk about these positive stories, the more comfortable we will get with it. We will be able to rebalance the narrative we have about the world.
I am convinced that together we can reclaim the joy of talking to each other about positive things.
Who’s with me?
Sarah Browning is a Kindness Cheerleader, Communicator and Strategist. For more details, log on to: www.timeforkindness.co.uk
