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