Tiny pleasures and small acts of kindness

As I write to you this morning after an active and productive start to the day, I have arrived back home just in time to join a co-writing session online. I love this way of working, sharing a gentle check-in with the small group before turning to our personal projects. Max Richter playing softly in the background.

The rains have stopped, it’s damp and humid. I feel warm and tingly inside, like an insect with a hundred feelers reaching out, anticipating, and sensitive to what wants to be explored.

This is my jumping off point this morning, as I settle on what I’d like to share.

A while ago, one late summer day, I went on a familiar hike, one I’ve done for years that begins outside my door, leads up through the woods, reaches a peak with an expansive view of Luzern, descends along vineyards and fields, before looping back through more winding woods.

I felt the impulse to change it up a little. Instead of focusing on where I was going, I’d greet each person I passed with warmth and a smile, consciously aware of who I was sharing this path with.

This simple pivot towards gentle, focused attention reflected with a brief, fleeting moment of genuine connection.

I climbed the final incline, reached the peak of my walk before making my way down the open fields where my sons used to sledge in winter. As I passed a farmhouse about the turn left, a farmer stepped out of his front door, and purposefully strode out right in front of me, not realising I was there. Hearing my footsteps, he turned, surprised and apologised. I grinned and reassured him, it was no problem, and I was absolutely fine.

He walked on and, after a few strides, paused, turned back, looked at me, and asked if I’d like a flower.

He led me to his garden on the edge of the path and picked a few of the last remaining large, blooming dahlias. They are unabashedly colourful, tall and proud, bursting with colour with ruffled petals that were a delight so late in the season.

He explained they wouldn’t last much longer and gifted them to my care. I felt rather protective, the keeper of last summer blooms…

My heart melted, touched by his rather austere exterior yet gentle manner and I felt so appreciative of this unexpected, simple gesture. I thanked him and walked away holding the stems, feeling rather like an elated young girl who would probably have skipped all the way back home!

Tiny pleasures and small acts of kindness.

You know how, when you explore a thought or idea, signs and suggestions seem to pop up everywhere? Here are a few tiny pleasures and small acts of kindness that have come to mind this week:

Mike Birbiglia: The Good Life (Netflix) This is brilliant; he has such range and is masterful at his craft.

Anna Lapwood, is one of the main reasons I haven’t quite managed to walk away from social media. Anna is an exceptional communicator, organist, and champion ambassador for music and all things good in this world.
For example, it’s 8 am and she’s just finished 9 hours of overnight rehearsals, the Norwegian Cathedral staff are opening up the building, and she’s about to leave when one of them asks if she’d play Happy Birthday for his wife. She squeals with excitement and leaps back towards the organ and belts it out with such joy and gusto.
Her About page and her Instagram are great.

A friend, Woz Flint, who has such a creative, generous spirit. Check out her snail-mail project.

Another dear friend, Linda Mcann, finds new and beautiful creative ways to connect with her family. Postcards from Gigi is such a thoughtful example.

What tiny pleasures and small acts of kindness have you experienced or offered? Who in your world or sphere are you appreciating for planting the seeds of hope and joy?

Drop me a line and let me know. Sharing is a small act of kindness itself, you never know who it may reach or touch at the right moment.

Wishing you unexpected moments of pleasure in the week ahead.

Karen x

P.S. Registration is open for the Blausee Yoga and Self-Care Retreat in autumn, which promises to include nourishing rest and delight.