Be Kind

It’s been a whirlwind of a year this year. I started the year on a high with ticking off an item off my bucket list, visiting Israel. To waking up on the last day of the trip with a condition called Bells Palsy (a temporary paralysis to the face), to requiring a few extra weeks off work to recover. Then March rolls around and we get smacked with a global pandemic…

Now it’s October and we are still dealing with the remnants of the pandemic. And I’m sure many of you have been impacted by COVID-19 in some way or another. I’m tired. And I’m sure you are too. And like me, maybe you are looking forward to Christmas where we hope we will be back to some kind of normality and hope that we will be able to spend Christmas with our loved ones.

But one thing that I have been reflecting on today as I was walking around my regular local walking track, and as I tried to smile to each person I passed, it is a difficult task because it’s hard to tell if the person walking past you is smiling under their mask. But even so, I managed to get a few nods, and hellos, and I felt good. Even though we are forced to wear masks where I live, and maintain 1.5m distance, there is still a need to be kind.

Have you thought about that lately? Everyone is going through something, yet we all still need each other. I watch so many videos on social media of people who are kind to each other, and it always tends to pull at emotional strings and I instantly think how can I be kinder to others? But I have also seen videos of people who aren’t kind to each other. And I don’t get it, in most cases it breaks my heart, or it just makes me plain mad. I’m sure you’ve seen those type of videos, too. We are all human beings, with emotions, with feelings, and we all go through tough times. No matter what we face as human beings, we should always be kind to one another.

A smile. A simple hello. A, how are you? A text message to a friend to let them know you are thinking of them. Whatever it is, it could make a huge difference in some one else’s world.

So, my challenge to myself and to you is how can we show kindness every single day? How can we make room for other’s in our lives even it is something small?

We never know who might need that smile, that hello, that random act of kindness.

And then the other type of kindness is are you being kind to yourself? Are you giving yourself the rest you need? Are you being gentle to yourself when you mess up? Are you thinking kind thoughts to yourself? Are you implementing self-care routines and doing things you enjoy?

Being kind to yourself is important.

Being kind to each other is important.

I hope that as you read this, you will be reminded that someone may need your kindness. And maybe it’s time you need to be kind to yourself as well.

Until next time.

Love Sarah-Jane x