Enfield resident Zoe White on how small acts of kindness can make a big difference

Have you noticed it? Have you felt it? Where did the kindness go? Some days, it feels like joy is slipping through the cracks, like simple moments of warmth and connection are fading.

Why did it go? Is it due to being distanced from others, spending more time online and not even having interactions when ordering food or paying for shopping, using machines instead. Have we been so distanced from others, we lost the ability to care?

A few years ago I came up with my ‘fabulous campaign’, putting out little bits of kindness wherever I can. I sign off all emails with “stay fabulous” when I post on socials – I also start with “hello fabulous people”, but that wasn’t enough. There is something about us humans that we hold on to the bad stuff. We can receive a thousand compliments but the one insult is the one that we carry with us and can taint our joy.

We have no idea what path someone is walking or what troubles are on their mind, yet we seem to lack care in our society and replace it with hate. There is RAOK (random act of kindness day) but has society devolved so badly that we have to be reminded to be kind and only one day a year?

There is so much we can do to put kindness in to the world. Yes, we can volunteer for a charity or community event or put money in a charity tin, but that takes time, money and effort, which sadly most people don’t have. You don’t need to do big things to make big differences. If you see someone with a nice bag or a haircut that you like, stop them in the street and tell them.

You can make someone’s day. If you have a kind thought, don’t waste it, say it. When you go to a shop till (yes there are still a few people who serve you in shops) say “hello”, smile, and say 2thank you”. This takes no effort, but rudeness is toxic and so is a smile. It is clear what is better. A simple thing can improve a bad day.

At Christmas I was teaching arts and crafts workshops, so I thought I would take a box of chocolates for all the participants to share in the Christmas spirit. I had purchased a big box, so I offered everyone in the cafe (where I was teaching) a chocolate. There was surprise, disbelief, suspicion and then joy all in milliseconds.

This Valentines Day I thought I would do the same. I purchased heart lollies and handed them out to staff and strangers at networking meetings, my workshops and to clients. There was shock, surprise and then massive smiles. People where just so surprised and overjoyed at this tiny gesture.

Yes, there is stranger danger and yes someone could take these kind gesture badly but I have never come across this. Can you be a little kinder, a little friendlier, a little more understanding? These don’t have to be earth shattering actions that cost you lots in time and money but giving seconds of your life, even micro-seconds of your life to smile can improve someone’s day and wipe the darkness away.

Everything we do has a ripple effect, a small act of kindness creates a lovey ripple effect, touching the lives of others in ways we may never fully understand. Think about small acts of kindness and how to incorporate them into your lives. We have so much power to make change yet we don’t use it because we think it’s too expensive, too time consuming, too much effort. We can give tiny sparks of kindness, little things can have big impacts.

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