Kindness & Mental Health
Random Acts of Kindness Day, February 17, focuses on all acts of kindness big and small in an effort to create a kinder world.
There are countless ways to spread kindness, but over the past week Hope for the Day has highlighted a handful on our social media. One of these options was sending a letter to a friend or family member. Mailing a handwritten note is a personal way to keep in touch with people you love, whether they live hours away or down the street.
This act of kindness can bring a smile to their face, improving their day and yours. It feels good to do something nice for people you care about!
Showing kindness towards family and friends also helps strengthen those relationships and builds strong networks of peer support. After all, friends and family can be some of the first people we turn to during difficult times.
It can feel easier at times to share that kindness with friends, family, and the people we choose to keep in our lives. These can often be the people who are showing that same kindness right back, but even total strangers are deserving of that same kindness and thoughtfulness.
We cannot predict what someone’s day will look like, but we can try to be a bright spot. Simply holding the door open for someone could make life a little easier in that moment.
A brief action such as that could mean little to some, but could mean a great deal to others.
It shows that you see that person and that someone cares enough to do something kind for them. A moment of acknowledgment can help someone know that they are deserving of kindness and respect.
If someone is going through a tough time, it can feel isolating and lonely. A small act of kindness from a stranger may not solve their situation, but maybe it can make their load a little lighter.
Usually, there’s no way to know how small acts of kindness impact strangers because you don’t cross paths again. But that doesn’t make their impact any less meaningful.
The same goes for volunteering with an organization. You likely don’t know the people that your work will help, but the work is worthwhile nonetheless.
Spreading kindness and helping those around you can build a stronger community. This is part of what community care is all about — helping your community and your community helping you.
Throughout all of this, it’s important to show kindness to the person you spend the most time with — yourself.
Showing kindness toward yourself can look different for everyone. Maybe it means being less harsh on yourself when you make a mistake, cleaning up your space, getting ahead on work to make things easier for your future self, or just getting an extra hour of sleep.
Practicing kindness towards others and knowing that everyone is worthy of that respect, can make it a little easier to be kind to yourself.
It may not be easy, but we can make our communities a kinder place one small act of kindness at a time.