The Difference you made

You might not always see how your kindness affects others. Still, somewhere, someone feels a little lighter because you treated them well.

“Today I was reminded how powerful a simple act of kindness can be.

I was moving through my day with a sense of uncertainty, and my thoughts felt unsettled.

Then someone spoke to me with unexpected kindness.

Just a few words.

A warm tone.

A moment of genuine attention.

It lasted only seconds.

Yet I remember feeling my shoulders relax as if something inside me had quietly softened.

On the way home, I kept thinking about it.

How such a small gesture can change the way someone feels.

The truth is, we rarely know what someone else is carrying through the day.

Sometimes a person only needs a moment of kindness to breathe a little easier.

Kindness has a quiet way of touching two hearts at once, the one who receives it and the one who offers it.

And now, as this Friday evening comes to an end, I find myself remembering that moment again.

Perhaps this weekend will bring simple encounters.

A greeting.

A conversation.

A kind word.

And maybe, without even realising it, a small act of kindness from YOU will make someone’s day a little lighter.”

from DM – Daily Motivation by Alice.

“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” — William Arthur Ward.

Every Tuesday, as part of my job as a support worker and advocate, I visit two Deaf disabled people. I always bring them fresh vegetables and fruit, and sometimes I share with their neighbour too. One of them is Carole. She has had a pacemaker since before the lockdown and faces other health challenges that make life hard. I’ve known her for almost fourteen years, since I started working with the Deaf community more than thirty years ago. I also worked with a woman named Sian, though that’s not her real name, who had a head injury.

Each season, I bring Carole tangelos, feijoas, short cucumbers, a bouquet of flowers to brighten her day, and some plant cuttings for her garden.

Carole always gives me homemade loaves when I visit or drop things off. It’s her generous way of saying thank you for checking in on her, since she lives alone.

“Make all you can, save all you can, give all you can.” — John Wesley.

One night, there was a serious incident at Sian and Carole’s housing estate involving several neighbours. There were fights, broken windows and cars, shouting, and threats made to a neighbour right in front of Sian and Carole’s apartments. It woke everyone up in the middle of the night. The police and the New Zealand Police Armed Offenders Squad (AOS) arrived and set up a barricade at the top of the main road. The AOS checked each apartment, including Sian’s, because they didn’t hear Carole say there was a deaf lady next door. Sian stayed upstairs to keep herself safe until the AOS knocked on her door to check for intruders. There was a language barrier. One neighbour, who usually didn’t get along with Carole, came to keep her safe. Carole texted me about what happened, but she couldn’t reach Sian because of the language barrier. I visited them in the morning, listened to their stories about that frightening night, and filed reports with the police and my case manager at the disability organisation. I also visited Carole because her blood pressure was high and she was scared to live alone, unable to sleep well for weeks after. Carole trusts me, and she knows how to contact me by text if her sister and her other good neighbour, who lives up the road, are unable to visit sometimes.

It’s not about pity or feeling sorry for people like Carole. When you take time to understand their lives, you see them for who they really are. It’s not about being selfish or refusing to help someone who is struggling or facing health issues with little support. It’s also not about judging people, like those who are homeless, because you can’t know their story just by looking at them.

Through our social service, we give out food parcels with the help of Food Bank Providers from Monday to Friday. We also offer showers, laundry services through Orange Service, a weekly community lunch on Mondays, and referrals to other agencies.

“Gratitude is the healthiest of all human emotions. The more you express gratitude for what you have, the more likely you will have even more to express gratitude for.” — Unknown Xavier University +2
“When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed.” — Maya Angelou.