Random acts of kindness

Hello Everyone,

Apologies for the late posting but this has been a particularly busy week in terms of work and other family commitments. For this post I wanted to talk about random acts of kindness.

I know last week on the 17th it was Random acts of Kindness Day, where people are encouraged to undertake an act of kindness for someone else.

I always strive to be polite and kind to people where I can. When thinking about the content of this post, I was trying to come up with examples of things that I have done that would be considered to be kind, but could not think of any what I would consider to be big examples.

I remember a time a few years ago where an older lady who used a mobility scooter became stuck on a country path. She asked me for help, and I helped to push her scooter from the mud onto the path so she could be on her way.

Similarly, recently I was buying a microwave from the Tescos in Llansamlet. One of the managers saw that I was sort of struggling under the weight of the microwave in the box and offered to help me. He carried it to the tills and scanned it through, waited for me to pay and then carried it out to my car and put it in the boot. He didn’t have to but he was incredibly polite and was a very nice man.

I have also seen other acts of kindness, some first hand and others via the internet. Most recently, my boyfriend and I were out in Cardiff and we came across a homeless person who was sleeping rough on what was quite a cold night. Shortly after walking past them my boyfriend stopped in his tracks, pulled out his wallet and gave the homeless person some money to get some food the next morning. The person was asleep and he didn’t want to wake him so he put the money under a milk bottle that the gentleman had. It was a wonderful act to witness.

I think Wales is particularly good at showing kindness to one another. I don’t agree that there should be one day devoted to it however, I think as human beings we should be able to pay it forward and be kind to one another every day of the year. Sometimes, simple acts of kindness can resonate with people and brighten their day. Today for example in Costcutter, I was buying a sandwich and the shop assistant wished me a good day.

So acts of kindness do not have to be a big gesture or restricted to one day of the year. I would encourage everyone to be polite and kind to one another because we don’t know what people are feeling or what they are experiencing and just through being kind it may brighten their day. I would encourage all to pay it forward whenever they can it will make others feel better and you will feel better knowing that you have potentially helped someone.

Thanks for reading and in the words of the famous comedienne and talk show host Ellen Degeneres ‘take care and be kind to one another’.

Joanna Wolton

I am a PhD student in the Centre for Innovative Ageing within the College of Human and Health Sciences. I hope this blog is insightful and gives you some tips and information about what it is like to be a student living in Swansea.

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