In a world where bad news dominates, it can sometimes seem as though humans are predisposed to mock, reject, and attack fellow humans who do not conform to their own worldview. And so, despite wisdom such as ‘in a world where you can be anything, be kind,’ it is easy to feel that our small acts of kindness towards one another are pointless, ineffectual and insignificant. What possible difference can it make to the world if I thank the bus driver, help a stranger with their spilt shopping or take the bins out for my elderly neighbour? Tomorrow will bring more stories of bombings and stabbings and man’s continued inhumanity to mankind.
Aesop said that ‘no act of kindness, however small, is ever wasted.' And Mother Teresa advised that ‘kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless’. Both suggest that small acts of kindness, while not world-changing, are just as significant. So, by resisting the temptation to feel overwhelmed by the enormity of the unkindness in the world, we can make a difference in our communities simply by being kind.
Kindness can be defined as ‘a type of behaviour marked by acts of generosity, consideration, rendering assistance, or concern for others, without expecting praise or reward in return.’ It’s so easy to compliment a colleague, to hold open a door, to message an overwhelmed friend or make someone a cup of tea. And it’s even easier to forget to do all of these things too.
Kind words and deeds can so easily go unsaid or undone, but they have the potential to make an enormous difference to a person’s day. Especially if that person, unbeknownst to you, is struggling at that moment and your kindness brings a glimmer of light to their darkness. According to Jackie Chan ‘Sometimes it takes only one act of kindness and caring to change a person’s life.’
THE RIPPLE EFFECT: HOW SMALL ACTS OF KINDNESS MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE - "we can make a difference in our communities simply by being kind." Share on X
At Fresh Start in Education, our mission is to inspire the young people we work with to have hope for their future. Regardless of what has happened before, we strive to engage with, support and inspire our students to achieve their full potential. Our students often have complex needs and have struggled to engage within a mainstream setting.
Our approach utilises many of the attributes for kindness listed above: we feel ‘concern’ for their individual needs and ‘render our assistance’ in different ways to help them re-engage with their learning. We give enormous ‘consideration’ to the difficulties our students may have with communication, with emotional or mental health needs or with unstable home environments. We are ‘generous’ in our approach, using patience and consistency until our students are ready to take their next steps with us. We provide small acts of kindness and care every day in the hope that this will, as Jackie Chan suggested, eventually change a person’s life. We don’t expect praise or reward but when we witness the progress that our young people eventually make, we feel rewarded enough.
This year, World Kindness Day is on Wednesday 13th November. A ‘Google’ search will take you to this description: ‘… a day devoted to the positive potential of both large and small acts of kindness; to ‘spread kindness with small gestures and encourage kindness to prevail over hatred…whether that is helping someone with chores, taking the time to ask how someone is doing, or complimenting someone, the name of the game is kindness, and we all have it in us…’ https://nationaltoday.com/world-kindness-day/
Undeniably, we do all have it in us to be kind to each other every day. We can all be a tiny ‘David’ antidote to the ‘Goliath’ of human misery. In a world of conflict, aggression and oppression, it falls to us little people to create small ripples of kindness. With a kind word here and a helpful gesture there, small ripples become larger waves, improving the outcomes within and beyond our communities.
On World Kindness Day, and indeed on every day, we can resolve to commit small acts of kindness. Kindness can become its own motive – 'we are made kind by being kind' - Eric Hoffer, philosopher.
About the author
Kate is a Staff Education Specialist at Fresh Start. She worked as a teacher for 20 years, across the junior age range in mainstream primary schools. As a SENCo, Kate has experience of supporting young people with a range of difficulties, working alongside their parents and her colleagues to ensure the best outcomes for each individual.
