#Little Kind Things
Last December, I tweeted every day to suggest #littlekindthings we could do in the run-up to Christmas. It was an alternative advent calendar and a reminder to be kind to others and to yourself during what can be the most stressful time of the year.
Since then you might say every day is stressful so it seemed like a brainwave to gather up all those small good deeds for my first blog.
You’ll notice there are only twenty of them on this list, not twenty-four. That’s because a few of them were specific to the time of year and unless you have a long white beard and live at the North Pole, you probably don’t want or need to be thinking about Christmas right now.
1. If you’re shopping online and using PayPal, have a think about clicking the little box at the bottom of the payment page to give £1 to charity. It’s a different charity each time so a fun lucky dip!
2. If you've had good service from a shop, company or other organisation, why not drop them a line to tell them? It will be a nice change for them to receive a bouquet among the more usual brickbats and will take only a moment of your time. I’ve heard that sometimes they reward you with a small gift or voucher!
3. Be patient. Patience (along with confidence) is one of the muscles Joe Wickes can’t help you with. Strengthening your patience muscle in small ways while queuing in a shop or stuck in a traffic will stand you in good stead for that inevitable moment when it really will be tried.
4. Have a think about buying from an independent business or market stall in your local area if you can. If you can’t find one that does, you might like to support a small online business instead.
5. This is a £2 coin. It’s helpful to keep one in your pocket or purse as it’s perfect for tips, charity boxes, flipping heads and tails to decide an argument. Try doing that last one with Apple Pay!
6. Let someone out at a junction. If you have a lot of shopping at the checkout and the person behind you has only a few, let them go first.
7. Donate body parts! Some super generous folk donate a kidney, but you don’t have to go that far. How about donating blood?
Maybe even get a treasured family member to donate on your behalf?
8. Compliments! Genuine compliments are lovely to receive and just as nice to give. So dole them out today - to loved ones, to someone next to you in the queue, a parent about their child, an owner about their dog. The possibilities are endless!
9. Make sure you haven’t left anyone out. Or behind.
10. Teach someone something new. Share a bit of your knowledge. Pass it on.
11. Listen when somebody else is speaking. Don’t interrupt and don’t spend that time worrying about what to say next. The actor, Oliver Reed, always left a pause after someone else spoke to be sure they had finished. That’s your time to think about what you want to say.
12. If you have a glasses wearer in the household and you have the right tool, surprise them by tightening all the tiny screws in their frames. They will sit so much more nicely and facilitate extra reading!
13. Download a helpful app like Mezurio where you play brain games to assist with dementia research or BeMyEyes which connects blind and low vision people with sighted volunteers through live video calls to help with things like reading labels or checking sell-by dates on food.
14. This is one of my favourites. Replace ‘but’ with ‘and’. As in ‘I’ve bought all the presents AND I haven’t wrapped them’. Not BUT I haven’t wrapped them. Don’t beat yourself up on what’s not been done. Give yourself a pat on the back for what you did do!
15. Do a chore for someone. Don’t expect them necessarily to lavish praise on you for doing it. You know you did good and that’s enough.
16. A laugh. A dance. A smile. These are some of the small interactions that if you share them with someone else - even for a second or two – you’re doing one of your #littlekindthings
17. Be nice to a tree. With their connective underground network of roots and ability to exude woody essential oils for you to enjoy, they’re being nice to you. I treat them as if they are humans; we don’t hug but I give them an occasional pat on the bark.
18. Surprise someone with a cup of tea or coffee or other libation of their choice.
19. Feed the birds. Or ducks if you’re lucky enough to be near a pond or lake.
20. Do a favour for yourself by making good memories and keeping them safe. Take a photo of the cat asleep in a sunbeam, a voice recording of your mum, a note in your diary of that thing that happened today. Future you will thank you for it.