To say 2020 didn’t pan out how I expected is the understatement of the year! Back in February I remember laughing at my ‘over-the-top’ husband, who was making me travel with a ‘COVID’ kit, featuring masks, gloves and sanitiser…to be fair he would give Bear Grylls (or maybe more like Ray Mears) a run for his money when it comes to survival. Even when we travel on a car-ferry, we have equipment and instructions to ensure we are prepared should there be a ‘titanic’ incident.
But a few short weeks later and I definitely wasn’t laughing, and he was feeling vindicated. Although I had to draw the line when he mentioned setting traps for squirrels to prepare for meat being in short supply. Trying to convince me by saying Elvis regularly ate squirrel wasn’t going to work either!
So on March 23rd, when I should have been in Morocco celebrating one of my best friends 50th I found myself in a very unexpected place; at home with my kids wondering what to do next.
Each and every one of us has experienced some kind of loss this year – but I’m not going to talk about that today. As we fast approach the end of what has been the craziest year of my life to date, I want to reflect on something I am truly grateful for this year, and that is the empathy and kindness revolution.
I didn’t see this one coming, but early on, something began to feel different. I started to hear stories about companies who weren’t known for their people-centred approach suddenly doing the right thing.
A friend of mine told me his company had pulled out all the stops to set them up to work from home, paying for decent chairs to sit on, and even sending out goody hampers – when previously they didn’t even get a Xmas team night out. I think he’s still slightly in shock that his company are showing kindness to their people.
And the ‘be kind’ movement took hold. People just generally being more decent to each other. Remember the guy who tweeted “I am not ok. Feeling rock bottom. Please take a few seconds to say hello if you see this tweet. Thank you”?
Edmund O’Leary tweeted his cry for help on a Friday night and was subsequently inundated with hundreds of thousands of people sending him words of kindness. The tweet has now been seen over 10 million times, with nearly 100,000 replies and 300,000 likes. In response to his tweet people have shared inspirational pictures, he’s received offers of help, invites for a coffee and more. A great moment that restores your faith in humanity and people’s ability to be kind.
Back in March, a couple of local friends of mine set up a Facebook group called ‘Frock up Friday’. It was a bit of fun set up to encourage some friends to get their glad-rags on each Friday night, even though we were all staying home. I probably need to point out here that Hastings, my hometown, in famous for dressing up. The group quickly grew, expanding around the UK, then the world – and now has over 13,000 members. But what is really special about this group, and in fact like no other Facebook group I have ever belonged to, is the empathy and kindness that radiates from its members. Friends have been made there and relationships started, people have come out and shared their thoughts and fears. And all of it has been met with genuine love, kindness and positivity which is really quite something for a group of this size. Would this have happened pre-covid? I’m not so sure…
We were lucky enough to welcome Dr David Hamilton onto the Reset Show back in the summer and I loved the way he talked about empathy and kindness. He explained kindness and empathy come hand in hand; empathy is the starting point – it’s where we express, ‘I’m here with you’. Imagine this as a seed in the soil. The seed then sprouts into a stem; let’s call this compassion. Here we might be thinking, ‘I want you to be free from this pain’. This notion is quite literally reflected in the brain where the ‘empathy areas’ light up, followed by the ‘compassion areas’. And then what we see on the outside is the stem blossom into a flower; an act of kindness.
So, as I reflect on the year that was 2020, I am grateful for this. Grateful that we finally seem to be waking up to what really matters and treating one another with kindness. And this make me hopeful for whatever 2021 will bring.
And remember, just be kind.
