Why kindness is key!

kindness

I have always believed in kindness no matter what. Kindness to myself, to my family, to my friends, to other human beings and to animals as well. Sometimes I don’t get kindness right but I always strive to be kind and not right.

Kindness goes hand in hand with compassion. The definition of compassion is the feeling that arises when you witness another’s suffering and you want to help to relieve that suffering.

The Dalai Lama said “compassion is the pathway to happiness.” In fact studies have shown that being kind and helping others can protect you from heart disease – twice as much as Asprin!

The reason I am writing about kindness and compassion is because I saw it in action last week, weaving its magic. I thought by sharing this story with you it would bring kindness into your focus and remind you how powerful kindness can be.

Kindness in action

It all starts with my mum Daphne who has been living in residential aged care (ie. nursing home, but it’s not called that anymore) since last August. My dad suddenly passed away in June last year and mum did not have the capacity to live by herself. It was a massive upheaval. Not only was she leaving the home she had lived in for the past ten years with dad, she had to condense all of her belongs to fit into one small room whilst grieving for her life long partner of 61 years.

It’s been a tough time and the journey continues with its ups and downs and twists and turns. Mum’s days roll into one most of the time, but what she looks forward to most is visits from friends and family. This helps to break up the monotony of a life in full time care where you are unable to get out and about yourself . Whilst her room at the residential aged care facility is lovely and she is cared for wonderfully, living in residential aged care with death constantly in your face is a tough gig.

So last week when I went to visit her, I took her out to have morning tea with a friend of mine. Deb is the epitome of kindness. I am sure she was born with kindness in her bones and I knew mum would love being in her company.

How true this was!

From the moment we arrived at Deb’s place we were greeted with big smiles, huge hugs, warmth and genuine hospitality. But what I loved most was that Deb took the time to listen to mum’s stories, to include her into the conversation and to make her feel special. She hooked her arm around mum’s arm and walked slowly with her around her gorgeous garden. She showed mum her roses and made sure mum had some of them to take home with her.

This small act of kindness put such a huge deposit into mum’s happiness account. Through out the rest of the day I could see mum’s mind going back to that happy 90 minutes where she felt cared for, special and loved. Not as an old person living in a nursing home but as the person she was; Daphne. I knew it had made a lasting positive impression. The gorgeous roses that Deb gave mum filled her small room with the most delightful scent, so the happy memory of that morning lingered on for the whole week. In fact everyone who entered her room remarked on the beautiful scent and mum had the pleasure of telling them about her visit all over again.

The power of kindness

Can you see how this one small act of kindness sent ripples of happiness far and wide. Not only was mum happy but so was I and so were all the people that walked into mum’s room during that week.

Kindness really is the key to happiness and I bet Deb received just as much happiness out of that morning as well.

Can I encourage you to put kindness and compassion at the forefront of your mind this week. Seek out some moments where you can be kind and take note of how you feel. It’s a great way to put some deposits into your happiness account.

Be happy, colour the world with your kindness.

PS I took Deb one of my Project Happy Rocks to live in her garden. This one was a special edition just for her, as she is always showering me with gifts. I don’t know who got the most pleasure out of it, Deb or me!

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