Kindness Challenge Week 4-Be Kind
This week we were challenged to be kind. You would think being kind wouldn’t be a challenge but if you think about it sometimes it is. It takes thought,time and effort to extend kindness.
One of the kind things I do is take food to folks in my building. I am not much for fixing a meal and having people over but when I cook or bake there is always more than enough to share so I take some to a neighbor. They don’t have to be elderly, sick, out of work or needy in some way I just randomly share. Mostly it’s with people I know but if I hear of someone I don’t know who needs help I will take them something. This is something I do on a regular basis.
I occasionally leave flowers at someone’s door with a note. I often don’t sign the note with the flowers, just leave them anonymously. This can be tricky. Seems some people are suspicious if they get flowers for no reason and don’t know who they are from and don’t like it.
As for things it seems I don’t do often I have worked on a couple this week. One thing is taking for granted when someone does their job. I do this a lot. This week I tried my best to remember to say please and thank you. Really we don’t hear those words enough in the workplace and I am one who is guilty of forgetting them.
I also tend not to call customer service people by their name or engage them in any conversation. I have shopped at the same grocery store for years and have never said more than hello, yes, no, thank you and bye to any of the cashiers. Weird when I think about it. I am trying to do better and did talk to Samantha for a minute the other day.
So, there you are. At home, I do okay but I guess I tend to be a bit unconscious when out and about. Going to have to work on it.
Patricia's Place 
Those are wonderfully kind things you do, Patricia! I can imagine the smiles that are generated by the gift of some freshly made food or a bouquet of flowers! Little things like that can be such day brighteners, especially because they are unexpected. I am a lot like you in forgetting to express my appreciation to my coworkers, I realize how much I like to hear thank you, so I am trying harder. I also try to say something nice to people out in public, service jobs are tough, people aren’t always polite. I enjoy offering small compliments to people in the elevator at my building or walking down the halls, noticing something pretty they are wearing or a new nail color or whatever. It’s nice not to feel invisible! I remember to thank Papa Bear each day for all the kind things he does and for putting up with me, that’s not always easy! 😉
It gets so busy at work with so much that is important that must be done asap common courtesy gets left in a file cabinet somewhere. I am working on this but today I didn’t do very well. I know people appreciate your noticing them. I seem to walk around in my own little fog when I am out and about and though I notice nature people are just blips on my radar. Change is my word for this year…
I loved reading this blog! I am a cashier during the day and I remember the first time a customer greeted me by name. He was like, “Hello, Erica.” and I did a double take. Normally, I don’t pay any mind to this part of customer service because I do not expect it. Not the customer’s fault, it’s just not really practiced.
It made me feel good though.
I also liked when you said leaving flowers at doors may make you seem suspicious 🙂 Isn’t it sad that kindness have to be suspicious now?
Thanks!
I a working on actually seeing customer service people. They are most important to employers and customers. They can make or break a business and need to be recognised. It is sad that the flowers are sometime seen as suspicious. We are becoming so wary of simple kindnesses.
Wonderful post and a good reminded to be more thoughtful.
I have always made a habit of telling anyone / everyone I pass / know or don’t know, if they have an attractive color, shirt, dress, coat, hat etc. Makes them smile and puts a lift into his or her step and I feel good too. ❤ ❤ ❤
I rarely say anything other than hello with a smile. It’s a wonderful habit you have developed.
You remind me of a neighbor I used to have. I was single and in my 30s and had moved into a house. My neighbors were in their 60s. I would often come home and find dinner on my patio table. Sometimes a strawberry pie. She always seemed to know when I was having a bad day and there was a surprise waiting for me. I thanked her but I wonder if she really knew how much her kindness was appreciated. I missed her (not for the gifts but for her company) when I moved from the area.
Your neighbor knew just what you needed and acted on it. Not many folks take the step to do something. I have a friend who is always giving me food. She’s the one who inspired me to share with my neighbors.
I try to compliment others, especially those in customer service. I will even go to supervisors to tell them of a good employee. I like to do random, little unknown good deeds. It is actually fun. ❤
I am working on this. I think after so long in sales and customer service myself I feel like those in service positions should just do their jobs and serve as best they can because it is the job. It was nice to be recognized but I never expected anything from my clients.I was just happy when they came back to see me again.
What a nice way to show kindness by leaving flowers at someones door. You are a kind person and it shows.
Thanks, I try and sometimes I succeed.
That is very kind! Funny how people can be suspicious of kindness. Not just beautiful flowers being left anonymously but kindness in general can catch people off guard and make them uneasy or weary… hopefully kindness will become the norm again starting with those that cross our path. Thank you for sharing Patricia. I’m confident you will be more mindful now that you are aware of this room for growth as you already do such kind things close to home 🙂
It is a puzzle how suspicious we have become. We even have to teach children to beware of kindness. How will it change with so much fear and distrust?
Do you think we teach children that? Do you mean with “stranger danger” or beyond that?
Stranger danger is real and becoming more prevalent so it must be addressed. But who is the stranger? Someone you have never seen before or does it include a neighbor you see but don’t know? How do we teach children to be careful without scaring them or having them put up walls closing them off from the joy of community? How does anyone balance the need to be careful and suspicion? I think there is a concern that we will become a society of isolated people. I have questions but no firm answers.
Sorry Patricia, I didn’t mean to imply stranger danger wasn’t real. What I wanted to do was use italics but I can’t in a comment… I was curious in what other ways you observe kids being taught to be suspicious of kindness.
As a mom of young kids this is a topic that has come up many times over the years. I’m not an expert and don’t have all of the answers but I recently did a post on this topic as to how we handle it in our house and it makes me feel more comfortable as a parent.
https://therichnessofasimplelife.wordpress.com/2016/05/16/momlife-monday-the-trouble-with-stranger-dannger/
I understood what you meant, Nikki. 🙂 I was just sort of thinking in print. It is a difficult subject to talk about without making a comment seem like a book.
Ok sorry, I didn’t want to come off insensitive or ignorant 😉 I don’t know if you were able to read the post (worry it was 1 am my time and I was too tired to type by that point) but in essence what we decided to do was tackle dangerous situations/scenarios. We focus on the behavior itself not the person it’s coming from. For example: no one can pick her up from school, she should never go anywhere alone with someone, not even if they say they know us, or if they offer candy/balloons/to see an animal etc. We’ve taught her this applies to everyone, she was shocked to think other kids, old ladies, and people of all types could fall into this scenario. I explained someone with bad intentions isn’t going to be dressed in all black and wearing a sign so we know they have bad intentions. I read a story of a 12 year old girl trying to get a girl at Target with her mom to play with her and there was a man waiting to grab her and when the mom realized what was going on they called the police and the girl and man got into a car with another man… It’s scary but it has to be presented in a way that kids are aware but not constantly afraid. My daughter feels safe on a regular basis but is just aware of her surroundings and of what people do and say that are “tricky” situations. It’s a difficult situation to cover like you say so that there’s awareness without fear. That’s the best I’ve been able to do so far.
You didn’t come off as insensitive or ignorant at all. I am just wondering about the future. There seems to be so much more danger that we have to be aware of now. Violence is escalating and that is scary but we must find within ourselves a way to live beyond that reality and to love one another in spite of the threats and uncertainty. Sadly our boundaries are becoming tighter and more restrictive and can make our love less free and open to others. We all lose something because of this, especially children who may never know the freedom they deserve.
Sometimes I wonder if the world has gotten worse or if we are just more aware. Instant updates, newsfeeds, etc. allow us to find out about things that we weren’t able to know in real time in the not so distant past. I agree that freedom and liberty is being restricted in so many ways and I’m hopeful that people can stand together to find solutions to make a positive change. I want my kids and the generations that come after to live in a world that’s better than the one I was born into. This is a small step in the right direction but when many people get together with the same intention, powerful things happen. It’s up to the people to set the positive intention 🙂
I really like how you show kindness – especially the sharing of cakes; everyone loves to share cakes! It’s sad that people are suspicious of flowers; but I suppose their first thought is that it’s either a stalker or an unwanted Ex. I always say thank you to everyone, whether it’s colleagues, people in the street or shop workers – but have found myself falling out of the habit of saying ‘please’. An interesting thing happened to our city buses. They used to have two doors – one at the front for getting on, and one in the middle for getting off. Now there is only one at the front. Nearly everyone gets off the bus and says ‘thank you’ to the driver.
Same here about the people who get off the bus at the front. Some even shout thank you from the rear door.
These is a sweet note. Saw your blog at Eugenia’s Tuesday chatter. She’s an awesome soul 🙂
😉 Thanks Jacqui
Thanks for visiting and leaving a comment. Come again, the door is always open.