I've been thinking a lot this weekend about good deeds. It all started when my boyfriend, Rob, and me were on our walk home from an afternoon at the pub and we saw an old man and lady struggling to move another old man onto a walker. We could have quite easily walked past without a thought but instead we stopped and asked them if they wanted a hand...
Turns out the old man had taken unwell that day and had a serious case of the shakes, he couldn't hold himself up and was in a state of panic. His family were trying to get him to the comfort of his home in order to be closer to the hospital / so his wife could contact the rapid response team. However he lived up a hill and it was clear that the old lady and her friend would not have been able to get the man back to his home on their own. So rob and me together pushed him on his walker up the hill, taking it slowly and moving him to make sure he was safe on the seat, reassuring him he was okay and would be home soon. We navigated the hill, got him into his building, then took him up to his floor and into him and his wife's flat. However when we got into the flat, the corridors were so narrow that we couldn't push him any more. Instead rob took one side and me the other and we lifted the man and carried him to the comfort of his sofa.
When he sat down, the smile and thank-you he, his wife and his friend gave us was better than anything I have experienced before. His smile literally lit up the room and my heart felt full! We asked if we could call an ambulance for him or offer any other help, his wife kindly declined and on the way out were incredibly grateful for our help. In fact the wife said 'There are good people out there' which filled Rob and me with such a sense of pride and happiness. There is no way that the lady would have been able to get him home even with the help of her friend, it made me so glad that we stopped to offer a hand. We smiled at each other as we left and said that it was our 'good deed for the day'.
Good deeds can come in many shapes and sizes. A good deed can show someone else love, care and support in a time when they need it, making them feel important and special. It can provide a sense of belonging for them, that they are worth goodness. But good deeds also have a great impact on your own personal mental health.
Happiness is infectious and doing a good deed for someone really does make you feel good. It puts life into perspective and naturally forces you out of your worry bubble, giving you time to focus your effort into someone else. Depending on the situation it can even reduce your worries by making you realise how meaningless they are in comparison to the big picture. Plus seeing someone else smile is super infectious!! After we got the man home we were smiling for hours.
Good deeds often happen naturally - It is almost our moral instinct to want to do good and be kind to others. In a world where terrible things do happen it is important that we treat each other as we wish to be treated and continue spreading the love and happiness. It is the butterfly effect - one small act of goodness can set of a wave of goodness.
Tomorrow night I plan to take a get well soon card up to the man and his wife and check in and see how they are. You never know whats going on in their life and if they are lucky enough to have people living around them that can offer that support. They might not need us but I feel morally it is our duty to do good and offer a helping hand if we can.
Try to think about the good you can do as we head into a new week. Hold a door open for someone who has their hands full, help an old lady struggling onto the bus, offer your seat to a pregnant lady or offer a tissue if you see someone upset. Being kind is never a bad thing and you will never be able to know how much that kindness is valued by the recipient.
Until next week...
Kirsty x