Micro Kindness

It seems fair to say 2020 has been a year unlike any other we have experienced in our lifetimes.

Global pandemic, presidential election, social unrest, unemployment.

Ugly. Messy. Hard. Painful. depressing.

There is plenty of pain and suffering to go around. Very few people have been left untouched by it all.

Yet this week brings the beginning of vaccinations, and there is now a light at the end of this tunnel (even if the light is just a dim speck in the distance).

We’ve been warned that this will get worse before it gets better, which feels about right.

People are fed up. Tired of masks, tired of businesses being closed, tired of staying home, tired of not seeing friends, family, and loved ones.

And now we’re only a week away from Christmas, a time of year which is normally reserved for happiness, coming together, and fun.

But that is disrupted this year for most of us.

I suspect that all the stress will weigh heavily on many people. Anxiety, depression, hopelessness, maybe even anger and frustration.

The pandemic has been dragging on since March, we’re all sick and tired of it.

But the holiday’s seem to amplify the problems. The disruption seems far worse at this time of year.

Many people are struggling mentally, emotionally, physically, financially.

It’s overwhelming.

But I believe that action helps most bad situations, even micro action.

We cannot save the world, or even a little slice of it, but we can help each other through micro acts of kindness.

Hold the door for someone. Say thank you to the cashier at the grocery store.

Smile at a stranger. Say something nice to someone you love.

Tell the important people in your life how important they are.

Let that mom with a cranky baby ahead of you in line.

Give someone who just wants to talk an extra minute.

There’s no better time than now to perform micro acts of kindness.

It’s possible your simple gesture can be all the difference in someone else’s day.