Rat Race 100 mile ultramarathon
Unseen acts of kindness
On Sunday evening this week a young friend of mine died, at home, surrounded by her family, as she wished. She’d been having treatment for advanced cancer for two years and was on palliative care for three weeks. Staff from our local hospice had been coming in and out to care for her three times a day, and during the last week, over and above their care sessions, they twice stayed with her for two hours allowing the family secure time out. This all happened unseen and unheralded. So kind and compassionate.
On Friday night my son-in-law booked into a hotel in Northumberland in readiness for an early start running the Rat Race 100 mile ultramarathon from Bamburgh Castle to Edinburgh Castle. In his case it was all in aid of Alzheimer’s Research UK, and he was astonished when the proprietor gave him a generous donation to the cause. Another kind act, unseen and unheralded.
Just two examples of the thousands of lovely quiet acts of kindness that rarely make the headlines, but warm the cockles of the heart and make a huge difference to the recipients and the world we live in.
In these times where every news bulletin brings us tales of barbarity and inhumanity, let’s celebrate the enormous amount of generosity and kindness in the world, part of its charm and effectiveness being its quiet unsung nature.