What drives someone to perform a random act of kindness beyond “normal boundaries”? Here is a recent true story that blew my mind off.
My dear friend Bob has just returned to Edinburgh, when he discovered he forgot his car keys, in a hotel in Dublin. As he got on the airport bus, he called the hotel to ensure that the keys were in a safe place. What happened next was truly unexpected.
The bus driver overheard the conversation with the hotel and offered him the keys to her car parked at the airport, for him to go home and collect his spare car keys. Just like that! Didn’t know who he was or what he did. What made her trust him with such an act of kindness? He gracefully took the keys and returned them later, while she was still on her shift. And left a gift for her in the car.
What an astonishing story of unconditional human kindness. Just hearing it filled my heart with joy. Experiencing it must have been a treat!
I have just spent 3 amazing days with 12 extraordinary human beings at Rich Litvin’s Deep Dive in London. The participants travelled from as far as Australia, the Middle East, Sweden, Germany, Belgium and Scotland. It was an experience that reignited my belief in human kindness and connection and its amazing power.
The energy in the room was palpable, heavy and uplifting throughout the 3 days. A space for kind challenge to grow exponentially, to be brave and vulnerable at the same time and to learn mastery from the Master himself. Rich spent hours and hours challenging our thinking. You see, Rich coaches Kings. And we all felt like Kings and Queens at the end of the 3 days and beyond.
Those 3 days have shifted my perspective in a way that surprised me. I knew Rich would create a magic experience, I never expected it to be that magical. We coached each other, stretched each other, supported each other, laughed and cried with each other. We all shared our gifts and got a lot more gifts in return. It was kindness at its best!
Experiencing the kind humanity in that room felt electrifying well beyond those 3 days. It was the way Rich managed to access it. As an eternal optimist, I’ve always got up and marched on during some of the most adverse and difficult moments. Even in the moments when my belief in the benefits of human kindness have been tested hard.
I still often ask my kids – “What is the most important thing in the world? To be kind. What is the second most important one? To be kind. And the third one? To be kind!” Kindness is our mantra.
It doesn’t cost anything and is a choice. Some would say an impossible choice when you have experienced human unkindness and ugliness in its raw form. But using kindness as your weapon of choice can pay off exponentially in the long term.
“Be kind whenever possible. It’s always possible.” Dalai Lama
Who will you choose to be kind to today?
ADA, March 2019