Kindness and Optimism

October 11th 2020

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Ann

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Greetings Sunny Optimist Buddies

Recently I watched the 2015 Cinderella film with my grandkids. It was touching when the mother offers Cinderella one of 'life's secrets.' She encourages her to 'be courageous and be kind.' I made a note of that at the time because I felt there was something there for me to explore. This week I would like to pick up on the theme of kindness.

One of the dictionaries I looked up offered that kindness was a disposition to do good. I liked that:

'a disposition to do good.'

There is a strength to kindness. It is not weak to be kind. It takes inner strength and often some degree of vulnerability. There is also a sense of not looking for any payback and of gifting yourself to the other person. Like sunshine blesses us with its light and warmth, others' kindness can contribute significantly to our optimism and sense of well-being.

A couple of weeks back, I received two acts of kindness that truly fueled my optimism.

White Van Man

I tripped when David and I were out on our daily walk. I hit my face on the path, bit through my lip, and hyperextended all the fingers on my hands. Ouch! My face was covered in blood, and I was groaning! Poor David did not know whether to leave me and run back for the car or help me get up and start to walk me home.

We decided on the latter.

As we reached the main road, a white van drove past, and I lifted my hand and sent a message out to the driver 'We need help.' The van drove past, and I remember thinking, 'Oh well, we will just have to get on with it.'

As we began the walk home, the van re-appeared beside us. The White Van Man had turned around to come back and check on us. He said he knew something was wrong. The man bundled us so ever so gently into the front seat of the van and drove us home. As we travelled, he spoke about his Mum. She had a fall recently, and he hoped that someone could stop for her if she ever needed help.

White Van Man has a bit of a reputation for driving too fast and not always considering others. I had a whole different experience that day. It warms my heart that there are people who will come to our rescue.

A deep bow of gratitude to WHITE VAN MAN!

My Get Well Card from my Granddaughter

I had the most amazing black eye from my fall; the rainbow colours were very present. My dear Gracie, aged nearly 6, decided to make me a get well card. She was quite concerned about how I might look from my reported injuries. The relief on Gracie's face when she saw I was ok was the best medicine I could ever have had.

Here is the card she created for me. Check out the black eye and the hair. LOL!

I was so touched.

Exploration on Kindness

Here are my questions for today;

• What is your sense of the qualities of kindness?

• Have you given or received some kindness today?

• How did it feel?

• Are you any more optimistic as a result?

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As always, I would love to hear from you.

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