Kindlandia: Highlighting Kindness

Dearest Edythe,

Dr. Alistair McAlpine, a pediatrician in South Africa, was featured on Bored Panda website. “He asked his terminal pediatric palliative care patients what they had enjoyed in life, and what gave it meaning. He shared their twitter feed.

NONE said they wished they’d watched more TV, played more Computer games, spent more time fighting with others or being in the hospital.

• MANY mentioned concern for their parent’s wellbeing.
• MANY wished they had spent less time worrying about what others thought about them. Thankful for those who treated them ‘normally.’
• ALL of them loved ICE CREAM and hearing stories, laughter, time with their loved ones.
• ALMOST ALL valued KINDNESS over other virtues: ‘My granny is always so good to me. She makes me smile.’ ‘Johnny gave me half of his sandwich.’ ‘I like it when the kind nurse is here. She is gentle, and it hurts less.’”

Dr. McAlpine summarized: “Be kind. Read more books. Spend time with your family. Crack jokes. Go to the beach. Hug your dog. Tell that special person you love them. These are the things these kids wished they could have done more. Oh … and of course, eat ice cream!”
 
The other story of kindness came from the Facebook Page Spotlight, “which aims to put the ‘Spotlight’ on the most inspiring and uplifting human interest stories from around the world. Spotlight’s goal is to restore faith in humanity by sharing daily acts of kindness that often go unnoticed.”

Jenna Steele shared a story in a February 6, 2018, post. “Jenna observed three teenage boys get out of their car and approach a homeless man. They each took out their wallets and gave the man some cash. Then they each shook the man’s hand giving him eye contact before they drove away. Jenna encouraged media to give visibility to these types of actions rather than violence. She said, ‘Maybe we will start a new kindness trend and make kids famous for these kinds of actions. This is what I want to see go viral. Feel free to share.’”
Ok, Jenna! I’m passing it along!

Edythe, this story also reminds me of a conversation we had after walking past some homeless in Seattle. You said what bothered you the most was how they were treated as invisible to other pedestrians. Giving a handout might not be the best choice, but not to acknowledge their presence with a polite nod or hello really bothered you.
I think acts of Kindness are plentiful, yet there is always room for more kindness. Being intentional about highlighting acts of kindness rather than violence may be a powerful trend and game changer. 

Look how the simple act of starting the Kindlandia Blog has encouraged others to be on the lookout for acts of kindness and to share them!