Last week I had the pleasure of listening to Dr. Wanye Thompson’s weekly advice posted on Facebook.
In short he charged listeners to get up of their seats of complaint and do 7 acts of kindness to strangers. The idea is to start countering our environment from becoming more contentious as it is heavily polluted with derogatory words.
So I took up the challenge.
Below are my results so far:
Friday 1 April, 2022 – was introduced to a new hire at work. At the end of the work day while leaving the office, I shared my experiences with the induction training and told him if he has any questions that I would be happy to help
Saturday 2 April, 2022 – left home with about 70p with the intention of giving it to someone. These were coins that I had accumulated for several months. Later in the day I saw a man sitting in front of a Marks & Spenser Store on Ealing Broadway while he was asking people passing for spare change. I placed the 70p in his cup and gave him a thumbs up. He gave me a “Thank you”
Monday 4 April, 2022 – On a few occasions over the past weeks I noticed a cleaner in the office building who works quietly and efficiently on small projects. So today, when I walked pass her I made eye contact and greeted her with a “Good afternoon”. She returned the greeting.
Tuesday 5 April, 2022 – While at the counter in a restaurant waiting to make a take away order, a young girl (I estimate to be about 12 years old) asked one the staff for a box cover. After several attempts, the server did not understand. When the server’s back was turned to the counter I suggested to the girl to ask for a cover for the bucket. The girl followed my suggestion and got the cover/lid she wanted. As she turned to walk away, she said “Thank you”
Wednesday 6 April, 2022 – While in a grocery store, a woman pretended that she did not see me in front of the queue. When it was time for the next shopper she looked at me as if she was confused. I smiled and gestured that she should proceed before me.
Thursday 7 April, 2022 – Wanted to buy a magazine to support a homeless vendor but I did not have enough money … so I contributed the money I had to her.
Above is my list. Join me and share one of your experiences in the comment section below.
All the best.
I especially thank grocery store staff for being on the front lines, patient and helpful,
Absolutely! They provide an essential service for our survival and well being. Thanks for sharing and looking forward to reading about other acts of kindness in the coming days. All the best.
This is an excellent initiative and opportunity embraced to make a positive and valued difference in the life experiences of people.
Today I took a decision to hold a door open for an individual and allowed the individual to enter a business establishment before me. I received a thank you response and a smile from the individual.
Yes it is and thank you for sharing your recent act of kindness. I found that trying to complete this task put me in a different/positive frame of mind. To borrow an expression from you, I believe we can “[…] make a positive and valued difference in the life experience of people”.
I’m always done acts of kindness. Growing up doing acts of kindness was thought to me by my great grandmother, grand mother and mother. They’ve always encouraged me to just do it without looking for any recognition. Feeling GOOD about doing something nice for someone else is the best reward.