Kindness is the currency of hope in this present age, and gratitude is what manufactures it. Here are a few ideas on how to be kind in this changing day:
1. offering to run an errand that will not only help someone, but it reduces or eliminates the need for contact, especially when it keeps older people safely isolated
2. smile. Strangely enough it reduces fear, and it can be seen from more than 2 metres away
3. making a mask for someone, or just as good, if you’re young and fit giving them yours. Not all masks offer the same protection, but take it from me as a once-time ‘specialist’ in such things, something is always better than nothing
4. understand that people may be sad or fearful. That is all. You hear them out and resist the temptation to give advice
5. make room for happiness and laughter, understanding that people need humour in dark times
6. being a friend to anyone and everyone, not too scrupled to hang out with ruffians, but refined enough to dignify everyone, seeing in them the best
7. you may not have it to give away, but you buy a grocery item, or a toilet roll extra, and pray on who to give these items away to. Indeed, having bought one or two more than you need, God will supply the person to give it to. God’s good like that
8. spending time with a neighbour, from a safe distance, of course. Making it your mission to get to know one person you don’t know per week. That’ll take at least 10-15 minutes each time
9. being someone who explains change well. There are bound to be people who cannot understand either the pace or details of change. Being able to report the facts without skewing them with our own opinion is a kind gesture
10. offer to take a pay cut if others will benefit. This assumes you’re not already losing your job. Have you noticed that the kinder you are with giving money, the more God multiplies the spiritual blessings? It’s true
11. do the housework, teach the kids, clean up what wasn’t yours to do. Particularly in the home, extra effort is always appreciated
12. think of writing a list of six people you know who are doing it tougher than you are... plan to bless them somehow and ensure at least three of them cannot tell who did it. Do simple things with significant impact
13. write secret notes of encouragement and thanks to people, making some of them anonymous, and add to these a little gift if you can, and especially prioritise the person who is recovering from illness
14. be ready to invest. Not on the stock market, but in the bank of good ideas. Get behind the brainstorming and don’t be the black hat
15. enjoy the hard work that is emblematic of this time, knowing that this season will soon enough pass. Know that your attitude is infectious!
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