Spread a little kindness; Good’s also contagious

Though there may be much disagreement in our community, country and world about a lot of things, there is likely a consensus that we are living in a time that is largely unprecedented.

We are all, the whole world, enduring a pandemic the likes of which we have not experienced in over 100 years. We are also experiencing civil unrest, devastating financial crises and uncertainty about what the future holds: whether our kids will be able to go to school, whether we are going to find a cure or a vaccine for this terrible virus, whether our lives will ever be the same.

For some, this experience has brought people together. For some, we have learned to appreciate how fortunate we are to have a roof over our heads, to have the financial resources to feed our families and pay our bills. For many, many others, this is not the reality. The fact that many of our friends, neighbors and community members are struggling and suffering can cause quite a bit of anxiety and a feeling of powerlessness. This may manifest itself by causing sadness, anger, hopelessness and fear.

It is hard to recognize and accept that we may not be able to change how fast we find a vaccine or get solid answers on when things will go back to “normal” or how we are going to recover from this stressful time. However, there is something we can do on a daily basis that may not only bring us peace amid the chaos, but also may serve to better our community. Be kind — it, too, is contagious.

I am sure we have all had an experience similar to the one I am about to describe to illustrate my point. This happened to me years ago but remains a powerful memory that I draw on to refocus in difficult times. I was in a drive-thru lane at Starbucks. The line was taking a long time, and I was getting frustrated. When I finally got up to the window, the Starbucks employee informed me that the car in front of mine had paid for my drink. I was surprised and I felt foolish for how frustrated I was. She then told me that the “Pay it Forward” had started several hours earlier and she had lost track of how many people had paid for the drinks for the car behind them. Of course, I, too, paid for the drinks of the car behind me — and it felt great.

This kindness that started with one person literally carried on for hours. It was not a big sacrifice, but the ramifications of the initial generous act went far beyond the elation of having someone pay for your coffee. It was indeed contagious, as demonstrated by the number of people who continued the kind act of paying for a stranger’s drink(s). The remainder of that day I noticed that I was more patient, happy and generous. I imagine most, if not all, of the Starbucks patrons in that drive-thru line had a similar mood the remainder of that day.

That brings me to my point. Things that are contagious aren’t always negative — for example, laughter is contagious. Yawning is contagious. I read that your dog can “catch” a yawn from you and vice versa. I tried it with my dogs, they didn’t cooperate. Happiness is contagious. Kindness also is contagious.

Be kind to each other on our roadways. Give that cyclist extra room in the bike path. Smile — with your eyes because you should be wearing a mask — at a stranger. Pull out your neighbors’ garbage bins. Hug your kids. Donate or help someone in need, if you can.

Appreciate your family. Adopt a shelter pet. Volunteer. Help a co-worker. Kindness truly has a way of proliferating, and the good news is that hand sanitizer, face masks and social distancing will not inhibit the community spread of the resulting generosity, patience, compassion and empathy.

If every single day we commit to do a few kind things for our community, our family, even ourselves, we will get through these tough times together, and we will be stronger for it.