Sunshine, July and Daily Tangents #5 Kindness
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| Original Gif by Buddy Summer |
Happy Friday and welcome to Sunshine, July and Daily Tangents #5.
Today's theme had my heart a little warmer even just adding it to my list of blog ideas for July. I've had this theme in the drafts for over a year and now feels like a good time to send it out into the universe...
Kindness.
An act of kindness I'm always reminded of when I hear the word happened to me around a year ago. I was in a supermarket at the self check out with my mum when the man on the till next to us collected our empty basket to put it away. He simply smiled and took it before returning to finish his checkout. He didn't work there and he didn't know us, he simply wanted to help out.
I think I was taken by this because we didn't exactly need any help or show sign of stress with the shopping- or anything like that, he just wanted to do a kind thing because he could. Kindness to me means sometimes doing things for someone else just because you can or in fact going out of your way for another human.
At college, I would find myself helping out other people- a jar of water for one, a helping hand carrying art stuff to another classroom (hugely appreciated and great chats) and advice of the art kind. Kindness can also be in the form of compliments (this is how I go about meeting new people) or showing that you are there for support or encouragement.
I love kindness as it fills me with plenty of good feeling. Perhaps this is a selfish thing but I think to be Kind can often mean Kindness returned and doesn't that make for a wonderful world to live in? If everyone was kind and patient with one another there would be more good days.
You've probably heard the quote: "Sprinkle Kindness around like confetti". If you haven't heard it you may have seen it on homeware or on Pinterest. I admire this quote and the idea of spreading around kindness as if the supply could never run out- and it won't; it can't.
This morning when I was thinking about what to put in today's post, my mind kept wandering to a teacher I had at school when I was younger. She was the type of teacher that stays with you- she was lovely, kind and caring and played by her own rules. This teacher, we will call Miss Alex, was confident (which usually can intimidate me when expressed in the wrong way) and had the ability to make you feel comfortable and make herself seem approachable.
Once, It was the end of the school day and I was walking out of the classroom with my friend. I had just strolled out of the toilets and collected my rucksack.
As we walked through the doors into the main corridor where we would soon be greeted by the entire school's parents in the front playground, Miss Alex came rushing behind me and quickly untucked my skirt from my pants and walked away. As I turned to her I noticed the group of boys from my school year behind me smiling to each other- we were around 7 or 8 at this point. My embarrassment was diminished where she didn't make a fuss but rather saw the potential life-ruining embarrassment, fixed it and carried on as if nothing had happened. It could have been way more embarrassing than having the sniggering boys seeing my bum- the entire school and their parents and their siblings could have seen it. It was still embarrassing and...I mean...I still remember it! But I don't look back and cringe like I do with other things (I may or may not share these times).
From this point, I've always tried to help someone out in an embarrassing situation, in a way that means less embarrassment for them.
I've had many teachers over the years that have shown me kindness. And you may think: well that's their job. But I think you can tell when a teacher goes above and beyond because they genuinely care rather than because they're being paid.
Going back to when I went to Italy with the school (This post), I had a teacher who helped me so much with my anxiety on that trip. She made me feel comfortable and I could go to her at any time and not feel like a burden- which happens a lot with anxiety. I don't think I could've done it without that support. And she could've been like: "well don't go then; don't go on a trip if you feel this anxious." I'm so glad she didn't and that she understood- she may not have understood completely but she knew that for me the trip was a difficult thing that I wanted to be able to do.
A final example is more recent. There have been so many times that I've felt grateful for the kindness of a Teacher but I will give you just one more: I was researching the Titanic for a project and I was stood at the printer when a teacher I had known (not as well as I was about to in the next year) came up to me with Titanic memorabilia that I could borrow. The leaflets and posters helped me so much with my project, my final outcome wouldn't have been what it was without her kindness. This teacher had taught me a handful of lessons but wasn't my core lecturer. She didn't need/have to do this which demonstrates Kindness tenfold. Now, we know each other a lot better. When she got married, I was touched when I was trusted to make her wedding bouquet. Slight tangent here but how wonderful that she had the trust and belief in my ability to create something for her special day. Support, encouragement and belief: another expression of kindness.
She's one of the people in life that you meet and has an impact on you. I learnt so much- no exaggeration, in every single conversation I learnt something that blew my mind.
She wasn't my core teacher but she cared about the students. My college experience would have been different without this person.
If any of my teachers are reading this, highly unlikely, Thank you so incredibly much for your kindness. If you the reader are a teacher- or a human being- kindness goes such a long way it's unimaginable.
Thank you for reading day 5 of Sunshine, July and Daily Tangents. I will be back tomorrow with day 6: Bewildered.
Love,
Buddy Summer xx
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