Kindness to those who suffer

As I write this I think of those suffering in wars around the globe and also in Turkey and Syria, battling homelessness bereavement and the fear of whta tomorrow may bring.

I have had a break from writing as you may have noticed. I set myself the challenge of writing everyday this year. And some stuff has been very difficult, so I practised what I precah and stopped writing for a while, to be kind to myself. Sometimes we need to just practice self-care, even if it means stopping a project or taking time out.

Suffering is a subject very dear to my heart. I think it isn’t spoken of enough because it will come to us all at some point in some way shape and form. And it really hurts.

So how do we help others who are suffering? I think it is important to be there for them, to listen and just sit maybe over a cup of tea. And be prepared to sit in silence if there are no words. Because sometimes silence is all that can be be said when the pain is too much. There may be tears and anger and many emotions too.

I think suffering also has benefits which may sound like a strange thing to say. It can shape the most beautiful empathic and amazing people, like Nelson Mandela, who was imprisoned for much of his life.

What I feel very strongly, is that suffering is never wasted. It is a horrible thing to experience, but if harnessed, can produce powerful people who help others. Those who become campaigners for justice, having lost a loved one or who go on to speak in schools, to help children avoid getting into criminality.

I think it is important to speak about such things, to she the burden with our friends and of course to act kindly. To offer that cup of tea or a shoulder if needed. And sometimes a bunch of flowers doesn’t go amiss…

I hope you are all doing okay out there. Thanks so much to all of you for all your sharing and reading and engaging with the blog.

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Serving Food and a cup of love

Today’s Diary of kindness is dedicated to Andrea Bell from Sunderland, who serves food and a cup of love to people without any judgement, from her wonderful soup kitchen.

Andrea is an inspiration. She has started the soup kitchen in a very deprived area and one of her “guests” spoke about how she has saved his life.

Andrea’s story is featured on BBC sounds (link below). For me, the touching thing is the unconditional service for people and also there are no limitations-people can just come and use the service. I also love the quality of the food served )salad and yoghurts).

This story is one of hundreds of people who offer a cup of love to others and refuse to walk by. It is an ordinary woman doing extraordinary things. And the song that has been written beautifully sums it up.

So do listen to the full article-you might be inspired to do something wonderful.

And huge thanks to my fabulous friend, Helen, of Lady D’s, who pointed this out to me today.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001h6g7 (accessed 09/01/2022)

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Today’s title may be indecipherable to some of you, however to many of you it will be a lifesaving set of numbers.

The kindness diaries today celebrates The Samaritans, an organisation that epitomises kindness-with callers who are vulnerable, which could mean suicidal, or just feeling lonely and needing a listening ear. They have a text service too.

This is a free organisation and the wonderful national team give their time for free. They are available 24/7. So a huge shout to The Samaritans as a wonderful example of not walking by.

Today’s challenge to my followers is to consider doing some charitable work. Could you be a Samaritan? Or sign up to assist with a local Parkrun? Or volunteer in a school to hep children with their reading? There are so many options to choose from and you would be warmly welcomed.

References:

https://www.parkrun.org.uk/ (accessed 05/01/2023)

https://www.samaritans.org/ (accessed 05/01/2022)

The Kindness Diaries Day 4

Today’s example of kindness was featured on BBC South East today on 3rd January. A beautiful project is on Facebook called ‘Just say Hello.’ The sole aim is to spread kindness in the community by saying hello anmd giving a compliment with enthusiasm.

There is an epidemic of loneliness at the moment and many are feeling extremely isolated. Just one kind word could literally save a life-you don’t know how desperate someone may be feeling. It is the simplicity of human connectedness at its most powerful.

So a huge shout out to Duncan Raban who is making the world a brighter place. Let’s all think about how we can just say hello and maybe pay a stranger a compliment today.

A huge hello to all followers-hope you are enjoying the kindness diaries

Hope X

https://fb.watch/hR8UIA1scr/

References

https://fb.watch/hR8UIA1scr/ (accessesed 04/01/2023)

The Kindness Diaries Day 2

Takeaway owner offers free pizzas to everyone in Edinburgh – BBC News

Today’s story comes from BBC news and I have added a link if you want to see the full article.

A takeaway owner is offering to give everyone in Edinburgh a free pizza over the next month as an act of kindness.

This represents the best in community kindness-a tsunami of kindness washing over a city. I think of people living on pavements nearby, who can have a lovely tasty pizza instead of scrabbling in bins or begging. And those forced to make a choice between heating their home and eating. So a huge shout out to Marc Wilkinson who is a kindness hero!

Marc Wilkinson, 55, the owner of Pure Pizza in Morningside, said he had been planning a big altruistic act to help people struggling with the cost of living crisis.

He said it would also give his part-time staff more work.

“I’m very happy with my plan because it’s a win, win, win for everyone,” he said.

“The customers benefit, the suppliers benefit and my team of chefs benefit as it gives them more hours of work.

“I keep hearing about how the cost of living is affecting so many people and I just thought that my ovens are running all day anyway, so they may as well be working at full capacity all day if it helps people.

“Altruism is something that really interests me so I wanted to try it.”

References:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-64126998 (accessed 02/01/2023).

The Kindness Diaries Day 1

Welcome everyone to 2023. So, I am planning to share about kindness over the next 364 days. I welcome any fellow bloggers who have written about kindness to get in touch-I will happily promote your blog.

So today is just a simple one. Small acts of kindness add up! Just to add a bit of context to the post, I have been very unwell over this Christmas season, starting on Boxing Day. A nasty virus has beset me and I am now, finally, slowly but surely on the road to recovery.

And the kindness I want to share about has been like a candle in a darkened room. My dear mum has been incredibly kind-going to get me throat sweets when it was dark and cold outside, making me a lovely toasty hot water bottle. Saying prayers that I get better. Coping with me coughing and coughing as we watch a film together and ignoring some of the weird noises that result! And one of the loveliest things she has done was making me a jelly, as I haven’t been able to keep solid food down.

Incidentally my mum is 81 and looks about 30 years younger. In fact the chemist was staggered when she collected my prescription-having gone to two previous places which had run out of antibiotics.

I think that kindness is particularly poignant when we are vulnerable and weak. It doesn’t have to be huge and dramatic, but the small soft acts fall gently like snow and transform the landscape. I have laid in bed with my lovely hot water bottle and thanked God for my mum and her kind heart.

Please let me know any kindness you have experienced. I want this to be an interactive page and will post about people who have shown kindness to others, because we all need to be kind, especially in these trying times.