by Dr Deborah Lee, Dr Fox Online Pharmacy
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I wanted to write this piece as I’m a firm believer in kindness. I witnessed an amazing act of kindness recently which I will describe to you below. But first, let me say a few things about kindness.
Are we born kind?
Yes, it’s true – we are all born with kindness genes. Research suggests about 30-60% of kindness is down to our genetics. But we can all learn to be kinder if kindness is nurtured and encouraged. Being kind is such a good thing, especially in the stressful world we are living in today.
The health benefits of being kind
Kindness is known to have health benefits as being kind directly stimulates anti-inflammatory genes and lowers inflammation. Kind people are generally healthier, happier and live longer. Being kind stimulates the production of brain endorphins and also gives you a natural ‘high.’
A random act of kindness
Here’s the story. I was on a train going to Waterloo before Christmas when I became aware of a bit of kafuffle going on behind me. I managed to piece together what was happening. The ticket inspector was standing beside a rather down-and-out kind of guy, who evidently didn’t have a ticket. The inspector delved into his brown bag and was on the verge of informing the transport police, when to my amazement, I heard the chap sitting behind me say ‘Hang on. Excuse me. I want to pay for his ticket.’
All the passengers sitting round and about looked visibly amazed as he repeated this ‘I want to pay for his ticket’. The two were on separate seats, on each side of the train, and were clearly not travelling together.
The ticket master said to the chap without the ticket ‘It’s your lucky day mate. This nice gentleman wants to pay for your ticket.’ The chap hung his head and muttered a quiet thank you. The card machine was produced and the man duly paid for the ticket.
After the ticket master had moved on I heard someone ask the gentleman behind me ‘Can I just ask? That was so kind of you, but why did you do it?’
He replied ‘Because someone did it for my son recently, the same thing happened. It saved my son from having a criminal record. I don’t know who it was that did it- but I wanted to say thank you.’
I have to say I was very touched to witness the whole incident.
What can we do to be kind?
There are so many ways to do acts of kindness and it doesn’t have to mean spending money. It might be simply acknowledging someone with a smile or stopping to chat with someone you know is lonely. You could knock on the door of a neighbour who lives alone and go in for a cup of tea. All it takes is to be a good listener. You could offer to walk a dog or babysit. You could do someone’s ironing or bake them a cake.
There are so many ideas – these are just a few. You could go and give blood or become a bone marrow donor. You could fill in an organ donation card.
Sometimes it’s the little things that count, like texting a friend to say thank you for their friendship or buying someone a bunch of flowers just to show you care.
You could offer to pay for someone’s parking, buy a coffee for someone in a coffee shop, or pay for someone’s food shopping in the supermarket.
Be kind behind the wheel – let other drivers go in front of you, and be courteous – the opposite of road rage.
Let someone in front of you in a queue or give up your seat on a bus or a train.
Give positive feedback – for something you have read, experienced and enjoyed. Be proactive about it – make someone’s day.
Why not become a volunteer? – which has so many benefits. In one American study, those aged 70 and above, who volunteered, were found to live longer than those who weren’t volunteers.
Final thoughts
Doing kind things makes you feel so much better about yourself. It increases your sense of self-worth, self-confidence and self-esteem. The hormone oxytocin – also known as the cuddle hormone – is released in shed loads – making you feel warm inside. What’s not to like?
I’m thinking about what I could do to be kinder this February. How about you?
And let’s not forget – we also need to be kind to ourselves.