;)
I know that last Friday (Nov. 4) was officially "Random Acts of Kindness" Day where I live, but somehow, when I awoke with a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach today, I knew that it is on this day, and the days ahead, that showing kindness in unexpected ways to unknown people will mean more than ever before.
In the wreckage following the U.S. election, I found my social feeds full of confusion, disbelief, and disappointment, as well as vitriol, accusations and protests. But the thought that kept coming back to me was that today is NOT the day to lose my faith in human nature, however severe this gut-kick.
I started to look for hopeful posts from friends (and I found a few), and these led me to think about how I could share a positive message today, and what it would be.
We think of elections as a time to make a choice, but I think we have an even bigger choice to make today. With that in mind, I sat down at my computer, and used one of my photos to create the image at the top of this post. I shared it on Twitter, and then looked up a few of my other favourite kindness quotes, and created a Facebook post.
Later this evening, I turned a few more quotes into images too. I've now shared these square ones on Instagram. I would be honoured if you choose to share any of these sentiments.
It's a little thing but, per Aesop, it's not wasted. (And yes, I performed a random act of kindness today too.)
Kindly, Elena
Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible." ~ Dalai Lama
Unexpected kindness is the most powerful, least costly, and most underrated agent of human change. ~ Bob Kerrey
The smallest act of kindness is worth more than the grandest intention. ~ Oscar Wilde
No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted. ~ Aesop's Fables
(See my follow-up post "We stand up.")