The little things….

Today, I had breakfast with a work colleague whom I count as a friend and have known for 20 years. We spent a pleasant hour chatting, reminiscing and “fixing the world”. The interaction and the affirmation made a very big difference to me today. A little thing or maybe not so little, but it was a big thing to me. I then had lunch with another friend, this time someone I have known since childhood. We spent a lovely couple of hours. Again this interaction has lifted my spirits. I was spoilt by 2 such lovely catchups in one day. People who took the time out of their very busy schedules to spend time with a friend.

My husband is away currently. Yesterday he took the time to send an “I love you text”. Now you might say “so what?” But for those of you who know my husband and for those of you who will get to know him a bit through this blog, you know, or will know, that he is not a texter. It might be three days before he even sees a text on his phone. He has had to be dragged into the phone tech world of the 21^st century kicking and screaming. So a little thing in the scheme of things but it meant a lot to me.

Maybe we could call the little things random acts of kindness? They make other people feel good and make us feel good too. It makes the world a better place.

What can we do today to make a difference to the people around us? It doesn’t have to be big. It might be babysitting so Mum and Dad can have a date night. Or it might be doing the dishes so the person who normally does them can have a rest. It might be making a phone call to someone you know has been struggling recently. Or if they don’t want to talk, having a text conversation. It might be baking some biscuits or a cake (or not, if you are terrible at cooking like me). It might be being intentional about giving someone a genuine compliment. It might be buying a meal for someone who cannot afford a meal. It might be mowing someone’s lawn because they can’t quite do it anymore due to injury or debilitation.

The list is endless. It is rather fun to think about the ways we can make a difference to other people’s journey. We can be spontaneous as situations arise, or we can plan. There is a lot of dopamine boost for us as we plan nice things to do for others. In the process we improve our own journey and well being. Win! Win!