10 small acts of kindness
My friend's mum—who’s in her mid-80s, battling blood cancer and can barely walk - had her driveway cleaned. It turned out someone had knocked on her door, offered to do the job, and then charged her an outrageous £1,100 for the 3-4 hours of work - only bothering to clean the part she could see from her window. There's nothing I can do about the despicable person that did this. But what I can do is choose to be kinder myself. So, I’ve made a list of small things I’m going to make a conscious effort to do more often.
1. Send a message of appreciation
Text or email someone just to say I appreciate them.
2. Compliment a stranger
If they have great style or a lovely smile, I’m going to tell them.
3. Leave a positive review for a small business
It costs nothing but I know from experience, how valuable it can be.
4. Drop some flowers to a friend or neighbour
Easy for me with the flower farm - at least when they’re in season, so no excuse not to!
5. Check in on someone who might welcome it
There are plenty of people I haven’t seen or spoken to for a while and I must do, even if it’s just a phone call.
6. Donate to a local food bank
I used to do this all the time, but I’ve let it slip. Time to restart.
7. Be more patient with people
Patience isn’t my strongest point, so I’m going to work on it, whether its’ slow service in a shop, bad drivers or my husband!
8. Pick up litter when I’m out and about
To be fair, I do this is already, so this one is maybe cheating a bit.
9. Be extra kind to people just doing their job
Many people do tough jobs for little pay. A smile, a little conversation and a genuine thank you might make their day a little easier.
10. Post a handwritten letter or card
Just a simple ‘thinking of you’ or ‘hope you have a great day’.
None of these things take much time or effort, but they can make a real difference—to someone else and to me. I can’t stop people from being cruel or dishonest, but I can choose to put more kindness into the world and that feels a good place to start.
Grounded | A space for slowing down and embracing life’s simple pleasures | Katie Shapland