AN ACT OF KINDNESS
Local author shares her tale
In this fierce, often cruel, world which seems to be losing its appreciation for kindness and respect, Calgary author Margaret Braun-Haley says it’s more important than ever to share stories about human goodness.
“I am seeing this world where there is a loss of respect, with the way people talk to each other, they don’t care what they sound like, how rough they are, and how they make others feel,” says the longtime author.
“They seem to want to hide the softer sides of their soul, and that’s really sad.”
Braun-Haley is published in the latest edition of the famous Chicken Soup for the Soul series — Random Acts of Kindness: 101 Stories of Compassion and Paying it Forward.
A former teacher and journalist, Braun-Haley tells the story of just returning to the bitter cold of the Alberta prairie after enjoying a warm Mexico vacation.
She finds herself without gloves at a self-serve gas station and struggles to warm her hands while trying to hold the pump handle with her coat.
Suddenly a kind RCMP officer gives her his gloves, and returns to filling his tank with bare hands, laughing off the cold and telling her that he’s used to it.
“The gift was small but my hands and my heart did not think so,” she writes.
The story, entitled simply “The Gloves,” is among 101 other stories with the resounding theme of people wanting to help, whether you ask them or not.
“I’ve always admired the people connected to this series and what they stand for. They work really hard to look for true stories that really make us feel good and touch that softer side of us. I really believe in that,” said Braun-Haley.
“And if I can write something that can be healing, and wholesome and can inspire someone else to be kind, that’s amazing,” she added.
“I think anyone who reads this book will think twice and think ‘I wish I had done that.’ It brings something out of individuals that we can never get enough of.”
Shelby Janner, spokeswoman for the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, noted a book like this will also be popular in a global community that has had a particularly tumultuous year with the divisive U.S. presidential election, the splintering of the European Union due to Brexit and the wars and refugee crises in the Middle East and Africa.
“A renewed focus on what is good about humanity seems to be called for these days,” Janner said.
“Chicken Soup for the Soul received a record number of submissions when it solicited for this collection about kindness, compassion and paying it forward.”
Chicken Soup for the Soul is one of the world’s most recognized storytellers, with over 100 million books sold across North America in more than 250 titles and translations in more than 40 languages.