The Kindness Box

[Geoff-Allen]

The Kindness Pandemic site -

Scroll down to absolutely dozens of links & stories of people demonstrating kindness ...

Media

Cheers!

 

[Geoff-Allen]

oOh!media has teamed up with grassroots Facebook campaign The Kindness Pandemic, to shine the light on heart-warming examples of goodwill across its retail, street, and rail networks in Australia.

The campaign highlights three messages of positivity from The Kindness Pandemic’s Facebook account and displays them across oOh!media’s assets every week. The collaboration is part of the company’s wider efforts to promote kindness and positivity — including reminders about responsible shopping and consideration for the elderly — by leveraging its outdoor assets.

According to the company, The Kindness Pandemic Facebook page is gaining an average of 100,000 new users daily and offers a creative way to spread feel-good news stories amid the COVID-19 crisis.

oOh!media Chief Content and Creative Officer Neil Ackland commented, “Our partnership with this heart-warming community campaign is an important part of oOh!’s passion to make public spaces better, drawing attention to these random acts of kindness from members of our local communities and at the same time encouraging our family, friends and neighbours to continue acting with consideration and empathy.”

oOh!media and The Kindness Pandemic partner to spread goodwill in Australia - The Moodie Davitt Report

 

[Geoff-Allen]

Love and belonging describes the human need for social connection. In this level of the pyramid, our needs are met through relationships with others that are based on inclusion and acceptance. COVID-19 is challenging our relationships across our society. We keep our distance physically, which means keeping connected emotionally is more important than ever.

The resources in in this section can help to build connection with others and renew our shared humanity. We each have great strength, and we can bring out the best in ourselves and others when we are more aware of the practical ways we can build a deeper sense of belonging.

Love and belonging

 

[Geoff-Allen]

Take a look at some of the kind acts – both great and small – that are buoying people during these uncertain times.

The COVID-19 pandemic and its associated social distancing and self-isolation measures has transformed the everyday fabric of society.

Despite the increase of fear-fuelled behaviour like panic buying in the early days, the new normal has also sparked positive behaviours such as unexpected acts of kindness.

Coronavirus self-isolation: Acts of kindness lifting people’s spirits

 

[Geoff-Allen]

Podcasts about kindness & compassion -

The Kindness Podcast

For example -

Nicole Phillips is a champion for using kindness to overcome all of life's difficulties, including her own battle with breast cancer. She spreads the message of the healing power of kindness through her public speaking and weekly column, Kindness is Contagious, which runs in newspapers in North Dakota and Minnesota. She is also the author of the book, Kindness is Contagious: 100 Stories to Remind You God is Good and So are Most People.

Here is the first to catch my eye -

We are mixing things up a little bit for this episode of The Kindness Podcast. Nicole's friend and fellow kindness advocate, Nathan Hofer from Lost & Found, has offered to take over the microphone to interview Nicole about her new book, The Negativity Remedy: Unlocking More Joy, Less Stress and Better Relationships Through Kindness.

From September 23, 2020 on that list.

Enjoy!

 

[Geoff-Allen]

40 Kindness Activities & Empathy Worksheets for Students and Adults

This article focuses on two traits in particular: kindness and empathy. While we won’t argue that they’re the most important traits for a child to develop, it could be argued that they’re among the traits most in need of encouragement in young people.

Many people think that children naturally develop kindness and empathy, so it might be assumed that time spent focusing on those traits would be better spent on studying math, practicing the piano, or playing basketball. Indeed, these two traits do often develop without any special attention paid to them.

Enjoy!

 

[Geoff-Allen]

Characteristics of a Kind Leader -

William F. Baker and Michael O’Malley, authors of “Leading with Kindness,” define the critical values of kind leaders as humility, authenticity, gratitude, integrity, humor, and compassion. Which leaders had the most impact on your career? Did they exhibit these qualities?

Kindness at work is a critical element to employee experience and directly tied to engagement. Former Workhuman® Live speaker Amy Cuddy has conducted research that shows leaders get more buy-in by projecting warmth as opposed to toughness. Kindness and warmth accelerate trust.

Kind leaders have a sincere desire to help an employee become their best self and create strong relationships with their teams, colleagues, and stakeholders. A 10-year study by Harvard Business Review showed the number one thing holding back lower-level executives is their inability to create trusting relationships.

How can we each create cultures within our teams where kindness and humanity become a core tenant?

Random Acts of Kindness Day: 11 Characteristics of a Kind Leader

 

[Geoff-Allen]

Create a culture of kindness -

https://www.freespirit.com/files/or...re-of-Kindness-in-Middle-School-preview-1.pdf

Cheers!

 

[Geoff-Allen]

Kindness can also become a rallying cry for positive change. Disney|ABC created its influential “Choose Kindness” campaign (#ChooseKindness) to help kids, families and influencers end bullying. Wouldn’t your workplace benefit from a similar initiative?

Consider how displaying–and rewarding–authentic kindness can inspire your team members, as we all endure a tumultuous, uncertain season together. As noted in this story by Todd Nordstrom, your ability to influence, persuade and lead people depends on how you treat them. He writes that being kind at work can inspire greater results, better ideas and improve relationships. But sometimes it takes a bit of inspiration and heroic storytelling to get the kindness ball rolling.

Encourage kind behavior. Daniel Lubetzky, founder and CEO of KIND LLC, ensures his company lives up to its name. The company’s mission statement is to “create a kinder, healthier world, one act, one snack at a time.” KIND reinforces its mission by recognizing each other’s acts of kindness with “Kindos,” or internal emails that offer praise, gratitude or celebration. As a result, people are encouraged to celebrate kindness and look for more opportunities to exhibit that behavior.

4 ways to create a culture of kindness and empathy - PR Daily

Cheers!

 

[Geoff-Allen]

Here at The Kindness Podcast, we are on a mission to teach the world about the transformative power of kindness! Tell us your Kindness Story by leaving a voicemail at (701)428-1122. Our host, Nicole Phillips is a champion for using kindness to overcome all of life’s difficulties, including her own battle with breast cancer. She spreads the message of the healing power of kindness through her books, speaking events and weekly column, Kindness is Contagious, which runs in newspapers in North Dakota and Minnesota. As Nicole often says, “Kindness has the power to transform a life, but it also has the ability to transform a single bad day-- and the life we transform with kindness is our own.”

Best episodes -

Best The Kindness Podcast Podcasts | Most Downloaded Episodes

One is called "Kindness is contagious"

All the best!

 

[Geoff-Allen]

One of the easiest things to do to help change the world is to spread kindness. Yet so often we forget to take the time and, in fact, take many of our loved ones for granted. It’s important to remember to be kind because life can sometimes be terribly unkind. It can be relentless and often quite painful.

We are all put on this planet to do something with our lives, to make others happy, to help and serve others. With this in mind, perhaps it’s time to start thinking about how you can spread the gift of kindness to those around you. If we can take time out to remember to show kindness to those around us, to strangers and to animals, hopefully it will cause a knock-on effect, so that others can spread the kindness further.

I’ve come up with 20 tips to get you started so we can all change the world—one step at a time.

These Simple Things You Do Can Change the World But You Don't Realize It

 

[Geoff-Allen]

Be your own best friend - scroll down to the podcast ...

A different kind of Pandemic we should all welcome

 

[Geoff-Allen]

Kindness is not quite an exact science, but it is a necessary one.

“Now more than ever is a time for acts of random kindness around the world,” says CGU School of Arts & Humanities alumna Arlette Poland (PhD, Religion, ’09).

Abbreviated into an approach that she calls ARK-ism, Poland’s system of focusing on acts of random kindness can be a guide and inspiration to achieve more happiness.

Kind action is the point of her Listen WithIN podcast—audio sessions she has been recording for almost three years.

Since the issuing of California’s “Safer at Home” order in March, Poland has committed to shorter podcasts involving readings, music, and words of encouragement. What began as her capstone project for a degree in ethical leadership has blossomed into a mission to give back and be of service.

“Podcasting has helped me offer my voice and perspective,” she explained. “I just want to help people because that is kindness in action and that is the point of life.”

Read and listen here -

Alum Podcast Answers Pandemic Panic With a Message About Kindness ·Claremont Graduate University

 

[Geoff-Allen]

Helping your neighbours during the pandemic -

Call or text your neighbors (especially elderly neighbors) to make sure they’re doing okay. Ask if there is anything that they need (be it a box of tissues or a cup of sugar). If you have what they’re looking for, offer to leave it outside their front door so that they can pick it up without coming in direct contact with you. It sounds extreme, but this is actually a great (and safe) way to make sure that your more vulnerable neighbors have what they need.

If you feel comfortable going out, consider knocking on the door of any elderly neighbors and chatting through the screen or storm door just to offer a bit of comfort and reassurance.

Read the rest of the suggestions -

9 Ways to Help Others During the Coronavirus Pandemic

 

[Geoff-Allen]

Big list - thousands in total? - of volunteering opportunities -

Find a way to help, wherever you are

All the best!

 

[Geoff-Allen]

By helping others you are actually helping yourself as it stimulates the feel-good endorphins in your brain.

Find a way to be of service every day. Who around you needs a meal delivered, their mailbox checked, their pet walked or a phone call for support. Practice random acts of kindness a day. It isn’t necessary to have a plan of when, how or who for, but it is important to have a commitment to it. It can be as simple as letting some in ahead of you at the supermarket check-out or at the traffic lights, picking up something dropped by someone or offering a kind word or smile.

It is a moment when “the another” occupies more of your thoughts and behaviour than yourself or your immediate world. Now is also a fabulous time to donate your time and skills to volunteering with some many people struggling with personal and economic security.

Covid-19 — 5 Ways To Wellbeing

 

[Geoff-Allen]

Coronavirus has made the world of hospice care even more intense says Joanne Laurence, a hospice and palliative care chaplain. Many patients are experiencing a lack of connection in isolation, which is where essential workers come in.

Caregivers of the Spirit

 

[Geoff-Allen]

Jeff Braff, a hospital chaplain in Toronto, has a unique view of the pandemic.

Each night he's at St. Michael's Hospital, he visits the families of patients who want his comforting advice, partly guided by his Tibetan Buddhist training.

But Braff is also a former infectious disease epidemiologist, who worked in public health in California. He's been able to look at the pandemic through both a spiritual and clinical lens.

"One of the things that always influenced my thinking ... is Buddhist ethics that basically talks about the interconnectedness of all things, and how we need to live our lives and work with compassion," said Braff.

Braff has been practicing Buddhism since he was a teenager, but it wasn't until 2015 that he had the opportunity to drop everything and train to become a Buddhist monk.

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/tapestry/c...ath-says-chaplain-and-buddhist-monk-1.5774600

Hope that link works!

Cheers!

 

[Geoff-Allen]

 

[Geoff-Allen]

At times like this, it’s easy to get caught up in your own fears and concerns. But amid all the stories of people fighting over wearing face masks or lining up outside gun stores to arm themselves, it’s important to take a breath and remember that we’re all in this together. As a quote circulating in Italy reminds us: “We’re standing far apart now so we can embrace each other later.”

It’s no coincidence that those who focus on others in need and support their communities, especially during times of crises, tend to be happier and healthier than those who act selfishly. Helping others not only makes a difference to your community—and even to the wider world at this time—it can also support your own mental health and well-being. Much of the anguish accompanying this pandemic stems from feeling powerless. Doing kind and helpful acts for others can help you regain a sense of control over your life—as well as adding meaning and purpose.

Even when you’re self-isolating or maintaining social distance, there’s still plenty you can do to help others.

Coronavirus Anxiety: Coping with Stress, Fear, and Worry - HelpGuide.org

Enjoy your day!