As another year of seeing kindness in the world around me draws to a close, I’ve been reflecting on what I’ve learned. I’ve looked back through the kindness examples on my Time for Kindness website and picked out some of my favourites.
In no particular order, as they say on the Strictly Come Dancing results show, these are some of the stories I’ve enjoyed in 2022.
• A shop cashier helped some children pick out and wrap surprise birthday gifts for their mum – as a single mum it’s usually hard to take the kids shopping without seeing what they’ve chosen.
• A credit card was found lost on the street. The finder posted about it in her local Facebook group and successfully reunited it with its owner.
• A colleague’s friends looked after her when she needed emergency dental treatment, ferrying her to appointments, putting her up over night and comforting her when she was in pain.
• The station manager bought some stickers so that under fives (who travel for free) could be given something in lieu of a ticket and didn’t feel left out.
• During the heatwave in the summer, a friend put a sign outside his office door, encouraging passers by to come in and fill their water bottles.
• When I went to collect my husband’s prescription, the pharmacist noticed that there was a repeat prescription in my name also waiting. This avoided me making a second trip another day.
• Two colleagues collected crisp packets from their office so that they could be taken to a specialist crisp packet recycling company.
• A neighbour saw some council workers outside his house fixing the paving slabs. He went out to say hello and thank you, then he took them coffee and chocolate biscuits.
• A friend helped a couple with walking sticks to make their way down some stairs. He offered his arm and exchanged jokes with them about how much he would charge (which was nothing, of course).
• A work contact told me how she had welcomed her colleagues’ children to online meetings during the school holidays, encouraging them to draw pictures to show at the end of the meeting.
• A fellow shopper took the time to tell a mum that she was doing a great job when she was trying to comfort her teething baby in the trolley while trying to do her food shop.
Looking back over the year, it’s clear that kindness comes up in all aspects of our lives, from work to family and friends, from our health to shopping, from the environment to our local communities.
It was hard to choose which examples to share with you. If you’d like to read more, visit www.timeforkindness.co.uk
Who’s been kind to you this year?
It is a privilege to receive these stories and share them more widely. I’m looking forward to seeing and sharing more examples during 2023. There are undoubtedly tough times ahead, but it’s important that we don’t lose sight of the kindness that is out there too.
Sarah Browning is a Kindness Cheerleader, Communicator and Strategist. For more details, log on to: www.timeforkindness.co.uk
