Act of Kindness
/… is a super power!
Have you ever wished to have super powers? I did! And now, I feel like it is actually easier than I imagined, to have super powers. We have already talked about the power of a smile. What about an act of kindness? The happiness that it creates - both by the one who provided it and by the one who received it - spreads like a huge wave. It washes anything that is on its way and leaves behind that refreshing new start.
This was somewhat a rough month for me. I spent about 2 weeks trying to book a ticket to Turkey for 9/1 departure. The hassle, certainly consumed me more than I thought. I couldn’t sleep at nights, I lost my patience with the kids over unnecessary things and, worst of it all, I felt very hopeless. Not to mention, right at the same time, Kaya started school in person - FOR THE FIRST TIME. I also didn’t anticipate the adjustment period for all that! Basically a lot was happening…. Finally last Monday, when I still didn’t have tickets, I decided to go to LinkedIn to find someone who works for Turkish Airlines, preferably in the Bay Area, so that they can relate to all we went through last year during COVID. I found someone… Someone with the super power of kindness…. He responded back to my desperate message right away and by the end of the day, I received our tickets! He could have easily ignored my message or sent me back to the “help desk” line. Instead he took the time to communicate with me and resolve my issue. Later on, he told me that he believes in kindness to fix this world. That’s when I decided to dedicate this blog to him. Not to mention, once I added him to my LinkedIn, I found out that it was his birthday that Monday!
The moment, I have realized that someone is truly trying to resolve my issue, I felt my shoulders relax. My heart calmed down and my eyebrows lifted…. There was definitely a physical reaction to a simple act of kindness. My mind changed from thinking about writing negative reviews to sending thank you messages. What Mr. Guner did changed the path of my month. I had other stresses to deal with but I was able to change my mindset on how to tackle them.
It is really easy to get pulled down with negativity. The key is to find the sliver of light that shines off of kindness, whether you create it or find the one who can create it for you. Once the light is there, getting out is easy. :)
Now… with all this stress talk, here is a good quick workout that would put some stress on your muscles to get you even stronger. Don’t forget… you can use kindness on yourself too by being kind to your own body. If something is too much, just stop…
For this month’s workout, I would like you to find a hill. For example, I use the streets around my house. I call this “Uphill Run, Downhill Play”. If you start at the bottom of the hill:
Run up the hill
Run down backwards
Run up the hill
Side shuffle down leading with the right side
Run up the hill
Side shuffle down leading with the left side
Run up the hill
10 Lunge walks to 10 forward squat jumps down (watch your knees)
Run up the hill
Run down 3 knees up/3 kick backs alternating
If you start at the top then just start at #2 and after #10, run up the hill! Once you are down, practice being kind by stretching… Being kind to yourself is the first step towards being kind to others. :).
Big high five to you ALL for getting through any stress that is thrown at you on daily basis.
GIving each other a hand…
let’s get mom some flowers, just because… (Kaya’s idea)
… AND my first grader - we manage to adjust!
