Some kind of kind

Some recent events have sparked some thoughts about kindness.  In the hustle and bustle of living in a big city, it's often the smallest gestures that I have started to consider so kind.  When you think about it, it doesn't take that much time or energy to lend a quick hand to someone struggling to open a door or to fire off a text to let a friend know you're thinking of them.  A memory came to me last week when I was at that point of just allllllmost being asleep...

When I was in grade 5, my teacher made us read novels and then complete book reports.  He didn't want us to summarize the book or talk about the characters we liked and why.  He gave us lots of options like creating a poster to represent the book, writing a poem or researching the location the book took place.  He also encouraged us to reach out to the author and send them a letter.  I loved to read and therefore really enjoyed writing letters to authors I loved and I would often get generic typed answers in return.  I should note that the class was also reading Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes about a girl in Hiroshima who was attempting to make 1000 paper cranes after being diagnosed with leukaemia.  I sent each author a crane with my letter.

One day, a response came from Nova Scotia author Budge Wilson.  Not only did she personally respond and answer all of my questions about her books and writing (in cursive kids... CURSIVE) but she included a beautiful pack of origami paper so I could continue making cranes.  It just recently occurred to me how incredibly kind that was.  For a complete stranger to go out and find a gift to send to a 10 year old child who happened to read one of her books... It's just so lovely!

I was moved to track Budge down to let her know how vividly I still remember her act of kindness. After some googling, I found her bio and email address.  She is 87 years old and still writing and coming up with new projects.  She thanked me for my note and told me that she still receives letters from young people asking questions about herself and her writing.  She told me that she has a favorite quote about kindness:  "Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle".  Believe it or not, I have had that exact quote tacked to the cork board in my living room for a little over a year now.  So great.

What or who inspires you to show your softer, gentler, kinder side?  Please share your stories of kindness below or join the conversation on Twitter @darbyvt #kindofkind

New Year's Goal- Get through winter without having to wear a light therapy visor...

December is really such a tease.  I spent all month admiring beautiful lights and decorations, enjoying good food and drinks with family and friends, feeling merry and briiiiiiiight...

And then January hit me like a ton of bricks.  The first few days were great (despite the 16 bottles of Gatorade I had to chug just to get out of bed).  I felt ambitious, motivated and excited.  THIS is the year.  The year I'll really get it together.  I'll discover the perfect work/home/social balance.  I'll make the most fabulous food while running at least 20km a week.  I'll watch less TV and read more books.  I'll do yoga.  I'll get married (oh God- that actually IS going to happen!!!)...  but then, by the first full week of January I'm already feeling overwhelmed, defeated and I've somehow managed to injure my elbow?!

This winter blues stuff is nothing new for me and I don't think I'm alone.  The cold weather and short days make me feel like a prisoner.  There is nothing appealing about leaving the comfort of my warm living room to go out in the snowpacolypse or -33 degree temperatures.  Then Thursday rolls around and I realize I haven't left the house in three days (thank the stars above that the new season of The Bachelor just started back up!).  The winter makes me feel like I'm at my worst.

As you can imagine, I'm a real joy to live with during this time of year.  T will be accepting applications for temporary fiance swaps soon.  We had a chat last night about what I can be doing to make the winter go by a bit quicker that would also help build my resume without having to wear one of these:

Although the last two "winter projects" (working part time at a Froyo shop and taking an Into to Tea class) helped make the months pass by, they aren't exactly things I feel especially proud of.  I really enjoy working with people but I also find a lot of joy in reading, writing and exploring the online social world.

It took about 2 minutes of googling before I found some really interesting courses in Social Media and Community Management at one of the Toronto colleges downtown.  Ladies and gentlemen, I'm going back to school!!  Again!!  In the Faculty of Business & Legal Studies!!  Wait... what?!  I'm excited to start my first course in Social Media Marketing next week.  

Stay warm out there and please leave me any comments or suggestions you may have on beating those winter doldrums.  You can find me on Twitter @darbyvt.