On this last day of #mentalhealthawarenessweek it’s good to reflect on this year’s theme – kindness. One of the upsides of this pandemic has been the many acts of kindness that complete strangers have shown to those less able than themselves – volunteers delivering free food, medicines, or fetching groceries for the vulnerable; people looking out for their neighbours; whole streets coming together for coffee or exercise! It seems we have a vast, untapped well of human-kindness that wasn’t apparent before, when our lives were busier and work-orientated….when the daily commute frayed tempers before the day even began, or parents stressed over getting kids to school on time before work; when we spent more time out of the house than at home. We didn’t have time to think about others…. Kindness does as much for the giver as the receiver – studies have shown that an act of kindness increases optimism and positivity in the giver for hours afterwards, and makes people generally happier! So let’s not stop this new way of relating to our fellow human beings when we re-emerge into this ‘new normal’. At the end of the day we all need each other!
#bekind #lovingkindness
