When it comes to our physical health, we are the ultimate decision makers. What we eat, whether we take our meds or not, how much exercise we get, these are some of the choices we make. The healthcare system repairs our bodies when they are not functioning properly, and electronic devices can provide warning lights to alert us when something may be breaking down, but we are responsible for maintenance, making sure our bodies have what they need to operate.
Do we have the same level of control over our emotional health? Can we choose what we are exposed to; choose to experience only healthy situations? No, but we are in control of how we react. Last week, like so many others around the world, I was thrown off balance by the events in Newtown. The news of the killing of 20 kindergarten students affected me like an illness, scaring my belief system and decimating my faith in humanity. The tragic event weighed on me for days as details slowly emerged. There is no cure for this, no therapy, or medication, no specialist to fix this illness. Are we helpless? Is our only option to allow time to disolve this event into a distant memory?
Just as we can be intentional in our decisions to improve our health, so too can we intentionally respond to tragedy in a way that improves and strengthens our emotional health. 26 Acts of Kindness is a movement to honour the lives lost in Newtown. The idea is to do one act of kindness for each life lost. The actions are trending on Twitter at #26acts and there is a Facebook page documenting acts of kindness. You will also find debate brewing on many aspects of the campaign but I want to focus on the positive benefits found in intentional act of kindness.
Being kind to others and helping out are behaviours we teach our children, we want them to be respectful and polite and to experience the uplifting feeling that comes from selfless acts. As adults it becomes our responsibility to make sure we continue the behaviours throughout our lives.
Robert Fulghum got it right and his wisdom, the insights he drew from children just like those in Newtown, was never more relevant.
All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. These are the things I learned:
- Share everything.
- Play fair.
- Don't hit people.
- Put things back where you found them.
- Clean up your own mess.
- Don't take things that aren't yours.
- Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody.
- Wash your hands before you eat.
- Flush.
- Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.
- Live a balanced life - learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.
- Take a nap every afternoon.
- When you go out in the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands and stick together.
- Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the Styrofoam cup: the roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.
- Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup - they all die. So do we.
- And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned - the biggest word of all - LOOK.
The decision to participate in 26 Acts of Kindness is irrelevant. We find these campaigns all around us in times of tragedy. It is ultimately a small gesture, at a time of year when there is a great deal of focus on helping others. Will it matter? Will it do more than make us feel better? Only if it is a catalyst for lasting change.
This New Year’s millions of people will vow to eat better and lose a few pounds. New Year’s is a trigger for those decisions but maintaining healthy behaviours takes commitment and a change in lifestyle in order to see results. 26 Acts of Kindness is no different, this movement is a trigger. The lasting influence will only be found in the choices we make as we go forward.
Make your choices count.
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