On the gate of a house near where I live hangs a blue binbag full of empty drinks cans.
Above it is a poster explaining that the people who live there are collecting the cans as a way to fundraise for the Berkshire MS Therapy Centre.
As I walked by the other day, a car pulled up in the street and out jumped a lady with her arms full of cans to pop into the bag.
This got me thinking about how easy it is to fit acts of kindness into things that we’re already doing. Presumably these drinks cans were destined for some sort of bin or recycling point anyway. Without much extra effort, if any, they have now been kindly donated to a cause that will make a difference to local people with MS.
Just doing their job?
Another example came from a friend who told me about a recent trip to a coffee shop.
She said that when she went in, “The lovely barista was helping an elderly customer who had accidentally turned the ringer off on his mobile phone and couldn’t work out how to turn it back on again.”
Mobile phone tech support probably isn’t part of the barista’s actual job description, but I’d wager that providing great customer service is. So including that help in his interaction with the customer added some kindness into the thing he was already doing (his job).
Just like the person in Sainsbury’s who showed me where to find the eggs yesterday. He’d seen me walk past the spot where he was stacking shelves a couple of times and when I went by again still with a puzzled look on my face, he stopped me and asked how he could help. Just doing his job, maybe, but I would still argue that it was a kindness he didn’t have to show me.
Fitting kindness into our lives
Lots of us are probably already adding kindness into our days, perhaps without realising it. Here are some ways that you may have carried out an act of kindness without even thinking about it:
• Donated clothes or bric-a-brac to a charity shop
• Recommended a book or TV series to a friend
• Let a car out in front of you on a busy road
• Helped someone reach a jar of pickle down from a high shelf at the supermarket
I think it follows that if we are being kind without realising it, we can do even more by consciously considering it. So why not have a think about the places and times in your life where it would be no extra effort to add in doing something for someone else.
For example:
• Putting your neighbour’s bins away when you do yours
• Recycling through a fundraising scheme
• Warning a fellow dog-walker that the path ahead is muddy
My final bit of advice? Don’t over-think it. Kindness is most strongly welcomed when it feels natural and authentic, not forced or contrived.
Sarah Browning is a Kindness Cheerleader, Communicator and Strategist. For more details, log on to: www.timeforkindness.co.uk
