Happy New Year everyone! It’s September, time to start school again, sign up for courses, resolve to go to the gym, get out the fall clothes, and put summer to bed however you do it.
We’ve drifted through two months of hot weather when it was easier to stay in air-conditioned comfort than battle mosquitoes in the heat. The internet offers no end of boring entertainment on doldrum days, but it also dishes up stories that bear repeating, providing reams of goodness when the rest of the news is determined to undermine our optimism.
We recently had a wasp problem that I couldn’t solve, so I posted my dilemma on Facebook, and voilà! In no time at all I had several offers of help from local people who took pity on my situation. One kind soul arrived in full gear early in the morning, got rid of the nest, and expected nothing in return but a pleasant country conversation. He was kind enough to call first to reassure me I could trust him, that I would be in good hands, and that he’d come with all the gear he needed to do the job safely and quickly, and indeed he did! He was covered head to toe — no way the wasps were going to get him! That one call made all the difference. To him the whole thing was an adventure; to me it was a life saver. His kindness stays with me every day.
When a friend took a tumble off her bicycle, strangers rushed to her aid. How did we know? She was so thankful, she sent a note to the Millstone to recognize their generosity. We’d all step in and do likewise, safe in the knowledge that someone would look out for us in the same way. However, she went the extra mile to acknowledge them. So gracious of her!
Small grocery carts are in short supply at the grocery store lately, and I’ve seen many people offering up their carts to seniors so they’re not manoeuvring a limousine around the grocery store. It’s a small gesture, but oh so welcome.
Our barber was particularly busy on a Monday when his car was being repaired. The mechanic delivered it back to him, no charge, just a quick word along with his car keys. A kindness that he likely didn’t even think was necessary went a long way to making someone’s day easier.
So here’s the plan: instead of drudging our way through the news, doom-scrolling the sadness and cruelty in the world, we should look for these daily acts of social contact that make a difference to others. It’s there if we look: the bank tellers who take a moment of conversation, the triage nurse who cleans a wound gently, the librarian who finds you the very book you want, the store owner who stays open an extra ten minutes, the postal clerk who corrects an address for you, and on the list could go.
Of course, we’ll have to put away the cell phone and actually look up at the world. Once we do that, we’re going to see these local acts of kindness popping up everywhere, which might encourage us to be on the giving end as well. None of us expect anything in return, except that nice glow that comes from helping someone else.
Maybe it’s our small-town camaraderie or simply a desire to make life better for others, but this community is notorious for helping in times of need. One only has to look at the Hub to see how often this happens, mostly under the radar. Every service organization has done its part. Fundraisers for every cause are duly supported, not only for the event itself but also for the good it gives back to those in need.
Does the word “volunteer” already take up too much of your time? Not here, where volunteering is as much a part of daily life as Cheeky Chippy on a Saturday night. That’s the first step in these local acts of kindness, letting our life become a small part of someone else’s, even if just for a few minutes. We can never be so busy that we ignore everyone else, because the day might come when we will need help ourselves, and that one small gesture will return tenfold.
These acts of kindness involve trust, something lacking when suspicion lurks everywhere. We need to stop fearing and start living to see the goodness around us. It doesn’t hurt to talk to strangers, it isn’t a crime to slow down and smell the roses. Okay, maybe not the roses with the wasps on them, but the rest of the world can become a garden of goodness, as we’re seeing all the time when little acts of kindness improve our day.