Spreading a Little Kindness

There’s a house down the road from me and every other day during lockdown, in their front garden they erect a different life size display of a character from a film, a cartoon, a superhero or teddy bear or just manakins in different some quite ‘interesting’ poses! Last week they were doing yoga poses and the mad hatters tea party and todays was Banana man! Although not on a main road, word has spread and the house has become a destination for many families out for their daily walks and judging by the painted pebbles of gratitude that people have left, it has been giving a lot of pleasure to many people over the past months. Often as I pass, I see people stopping to take photos and share their delight with the other onlookers.

But it will not only have been the receivers of this gift who will have benefitted.

Research suggests that giving leads to greater happiness for the giver. In numerous studies, scientists found that those who spent money on others, even though they had the option to spend the money on themselves, were happier. But you don’t have to give financially or even a light hearted show in your front garden: You can give your time, you can give your warmth and friendship and you can give a listening ear or a shoulder to lean on.

When you do this, you’ll not only be contributing to making the world a nicer place and possibly someone’s life a little better but you’ll also be brightening your own soul.

In The Art of Loving, Erich Fromm wrote: “Giving is more joyous than receiving, not because it is a deprivation, but because in the act of giving lies the expression of my aliveness.” 

I am certain that seeing the smiles, gratitude and expressions of delight on the faces of the local residents enjoying the display each day will have made the time and probably huge effort on the part of the guys at number 27 extremely worthwhile.

As Lewis Carroll himself said ‘One of the deep secrets of life is that all that is really worth doing is what we do for others’.