This week, I discovered the Together Coalition, a UK-wide community of organisations and individuals who believe we have much more in common than divides us.
Its aim is to: “build kinder, closer and more connected communities by bringing people together and bridging divides.”
Together has been my favourite word for a long time. So this group immediately caught my eye. More than that though, I like it because I think it highlights the power of kindness through connection.
Stories of connection
Local communities are driven by connections to the people around us. We live on the same streets, our kids go to the same schools, we put our bins out on the same day. And because we feel we share things with our community, we will often carry out small acts of kindness for each other.
The stories sent in to my Time for Kindness website often involve examples of community kindness, such as:
Neighbours taking in parcels for the family next door who are out at work all day;
Road co-ordinators helping to put bins out or take them in for elderly neighbours;
People taking a cooked meal round to a friend who is unwell.
Other stories we hear about at Time for Kindness involve people who didn’t know each other beforehand, for example:
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Shoppers who let a stranger go in front of them at the supermarket because they were only buying two items;
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A person who picked up a dropped purse in the street and got it back to its owner;
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A commuter who gave up their seat on a train for a fellow traveller on crutches.
In almost all cases, whether the people in a story knew each other already or not, they tell us how good it felt to know that another human being cared enough to do something nice for them. Those connections are strong, even when they are fleeting.
More in common
Even when we have differences of opinion, we must remind ourselves to actively look for something we share. I believe the majority of people would help pick up dropped shopping, even if we knew that person had different political opinions to us or, perhaps worse, didn’t like our favourite TV programme.
Seeing another human being struggling, most people want to help.
In difficult times, it’s even more important to look for those points of connection. People will experience challenges in different ways, but looking for ways to show kindness can help us feel less alone. And if you’re not on the giving or receiving end yourself, seeing the kindness of others can still give you a positive boost and connect you to the wider human community.
Join in
We can all take action. Organisations and individuals can join the Together Coalition. If you believe that kindness and connection are the way forward for all of us, why not take a look and join the community.
Sarah Browning is a Kindness Cheerleader, Communicator and Strategist. For more details, log on to: www.timeforkindness.co.uk
