KICK-BACK BENEFITS
My partner gave me a gift the other day.
It wasn’t something I’d asked for, and it wasn’t even intended for me, but it made both of us happy. And I’m telling you about this now because it was something I could easily have missed, and I’m hoping this tale will help you be aware of more things that make you feel good as well.
The gift she made was a lavender eye pillow, and she made it for someone she had never met in person. Sal works as a medical receptionist for a team of general practitioners over here in England, and she is also very handy with a sewing machine.
So, when an elderly housebound patient told her on the phone that her professional carers said they didn’t have the time to find her an eye pillow, Sal decided to make one herself. Then, without telling the lady what she had done, she sent it to her with the prescriptions that are regularly delivered to her home.
The pillow is a 20cm x 10cm silk bag that is filled to about three-quarters capacity with a mixture of dried lentils and lavender. It is often used to block out light by people who want to rest during the day and, according to Sal, the scent has a calming and healing effect. And, evidently, aromatherapists, the elderly patient, and many others agree.
I have to admit, I like it as well, but what I really liked was how I felt as she was telling me about how happy the woman was when she realised Sal had made the gift for her… and how good Sal felt about what she had done. Her deed, and the effect it had on the lady who received it and the other women who work at the doctors’ practice made me feel happy, so that was the gift she gave to me.
That got me thinking about how we never can know all the knock-on effects that our words and actions will have. We often hear about adults seeking professional advice to help them deal with psychological scars that were formed when they were kids, so there is definitely a danger our actions and words can do harm.
But it’s also important to realise that small acts of kindness can bring happiness to many more people than just the direct recipients of those acts. For example, I’m telling you about what Sal did now, and I imagine some of her colleagues have told their families and friends, and hopefully, some of those people will be inspired to help others in the future.
So, who knows, maybe some of those future acts will directly benefit some of us. But even if they don’t, we are still ahead of the game because one of the knock-on effects of being kind is, in fact, a kick-back… as is in doing nice things for others makes us feel good about ourselves.
Or as the late Anglican Archbishop, Desmond Tutu, once said: “The best way to find joy is to try to bring joy to others.”