Kindness

“I thought of you today.”

Five short words with a powerful meaning.

Personally, I love when someone pays attention to something I said, like, or did some time ago which they kept in mind. Obvious things would be for example a text message I got from my friend in Cali the other day – she had seen someone wearing a Toronto Blue Jays cap in her neck of the woods and immediately thought of me because of that. Sure, it’s no biggie, but still, there was a moment in her day when she saw something that reminded her of Yours Truly.
Other things are for example someone else asking if my dogs (which both unfortunately have long since crossed the Rainbow Bridge) were Border Terriers. Because I keep mentioning that particular breed on Twitter every now and then. (Can’t help it, those little brown dogs with their big hearts have this thing of wrapping their hooman around their little paws in no time.)
My aunt loves sending me postcards every once and a while with images on them that she associates with me.

I totally appreciate that someone took a moment of their time to text me, send me a photo, a card whatsoever. It never goes unnoticed!

Likewise, I LIVE for making other people happy. I am known for that particular skill of putting a smile on someone else’s face just by sending them a little something every now and then. It doesn’t have to be a super expensive gift, but how about a little random act of kindness? It doesn’t hurt AT ALL. On the contrary, it makes me happy, too. Knowing that someone smiled because I have done something for them just feels …good. I love sending out a random postcard to someone I am friends with, and not just when I am on vacation. 😉 So whoever can consider themselves lucky to be friends with me, usually is in for a little surprise in their mailbox whenever I feel like sending out something, be it a postcard, a letter or a small gift (the latter when I know you really well and thus also know what makes your heart happy). Well, okay, if we’re talking BURY TOMORROW, then the lads are usually always in for a little something, hehe. But you know that from my previous entry. 😀

snatched from my friend’s IG, but a gift by Yours Truly

I know, y’all are probably wondering what those are. In short: original goalie gloves of HERTHA BSC‘s Norwegian goalie Rune Jarstein. I didn’t even have to go all out of my way for those, I simply plucked up my courage, walked up to him at their training ground and asked, if he had an extra pair to spare? Which he did. Okay, not for me, but for one of my closest friends who loves Norway, the Norwegian NT, Rune, and the “Old Lady”. I only told her that I had something for her which I was going to send her.

Said and done.

Her face when she opened the gift was …priceless. She hadn’t expected THAT for sure. In the card that went with the gloves was a hint from which player it could be, but watching her reaction (her sister had suggested to film a video of her opening the gift) was so lovely, it made my heart smile as well.

Thing is, knowing that my friend was happy made me feel happy, too. Appreciated, even. When you’ve been struggling with depression and anxiety for so many years, feeling insecure more often than not, and are generally dealing with a low self-esteem, those random acts of kindness simply feel good. It’s something that helps me a lot to keep the dark thoughts at bay, to be honest. If I know that someone smiled because of ME then I also know that I am not worth- or useless. (Which is unfortunately something that comes with depression.) Likewise, I also know that the time I spent on organizing the gifts or writing the cards wasn’t wasted at all. If anything, it was a lovely period in which I wasn’t troubled for a bit. Some kind of therapy for sure!

For example, last year I made a photobook for the abovementioned friend in California, I was entirely immersed while choosing the photos and arranging them on the respective pages in the photobook. I totally forgot space and time, so to speak. Just me, some music and the software to create something. It was huge fun, obviously, the hurricane in my head was silent (which was also important as I unfortunately had a really nasty relapse at the end of last year which ultimately resulted in my skipping a freakin’ concert I had been looking forward to for months! Something I totally could’ve done without …) and I knew already that she was going to love the prezzie. Even if the process of creating the photobook took a large chunk of my evening, I didn’t regret it at all, because the outcome was really lovely and I was doing something I enjoy doing. Needless to say, my friend loved the book. Just like she loved the calendars with self-taken photos I usually make for her. 🙂 So it’s a Win/Win situation for both sides.

Bottom line is, don’t be afraid to tell someone you thought of them that day. If you want to send a friend a random card or letter – go for it. It can and will brighten someone else’s day, and you will ultimately feel good about it, too. Especially since we’re living in a time and age where people seem to be getting more and more selfish and “ME FIRST!” at an alarming rate.

Be sure that when you mention something that reminds you of me, it will not go by unnoticed. It means that you’ve been listening to what I’ve said, that you’ve been paying attention to some details I mentioned along the way. Kindness doesn’t cost much. But the reward for it is priceless.