Katie Hunter | Depute Editor-in-Chief
Tomorrow, the 13th November 2017, marks World Kindness Day: 24 hours devoted to carrying out acts of kindness, regardless of their size. The day’s purpose is to promote and celebrate just being nice but that’s certainly not to say that we should be ignorant and unkind the other 364 days of the year!
Kindness Day became a celebrated occasion on November 13th 1997 when a great number of humanitarian groups came together and made a “Declaration of Kindness”. However, the idea of this day came from “Japan’s Small Kindness Movement”, founded in 1963 when Tokyo’s University’s President was mugged in an open and public place and received no help. He founded a movement calling for bravery in the form of Small Acts of Kindness and he hoped that this would take shape in Japan.
Undoubtedly, there are hundreds of praiseworthy acts which could be carried out which do not involve dishing out all of your hard-earned cash and could continue to change lives for a long period after the good deed is done. Without a doubt, volunteering is an invaluable experience. Whether it be in a nursing home or hospital as a “befriender”, in a soup kitchen or an animal rescue centre, your commitment and work will ultimately put a smile on somebody’s face, a smile which may have been missing for some time.
On the contrary, if being hands on in one of these places isn’t for you, perhaps you could make cookies or other delicious snacks for your friends, classmates or teachers. This is sure to cheer them up after a long Monday.
In reality it doesn’t need to be something huge or time consuming; perhaps you could give up your seat on a busy bus for someone who may need it more than you, say good morning to everyone you meet on your way to school or spend time with a family member or neighbour who may be lonely. Giving your sibling that TV remote they’re desperate for for a few hours could also leave you with that same feeling of satisfaction.
Many of us forget that being kind towards our environment will ultimately bring us happiness in the long term. Your act of kindness could be ensuring that you use reusable products instead of disposable ones or even something as simple as making sure you turn off the tap each morning and evening as you brush your teeth. Perhaps encourage your parents to buy and use one of these bags for life that they see at the till when doing the weekly shop.
It certainly makes me smile when I hear of some of the lovely acts of kindness that have been carried out in the past. For example, Kindness UK were responsible for handing out 10,000 free chocolate bars at London Train Stations. The same organisation also encouraged a “Text Wave” in 2012 which swept the UK, with many receiving kind messages which ultimately brightened up their day.
In the words of Mark Twain,
“Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see”.
Sometimes we feel the need to wait for the opportunity to be kind or seek someone who is “deserving” of such acts of kindness, but this day proves to show just how easy it is to improve someone’s quality of life.
Studies have even shown that doing a kind deed for another person can leave you feeling more optimistic and happy, more energetic and even have a better ability to cope with pain. As if that wasn’t enough, its been proven to increase your body warmth and help you live longer! The feeling of happiness you receive is due to the release of endorphins in the body which leads to that “feel good” sensation.
If we could all take this approach every day, an approach where we ask ourselves “what kind act could help in this situation?”, perhaps we could eliminate poverty, starvation, human suffering, war and hatred in our modern world.
