I've not been around here much recently as were been exceptionally busy with courses etc these last months. One of the courses we host is a Permaculture Design Course, and I want to tell you about the 'Kindness Angel' that our teacher has introduced into this year's events. On the wall of the classroom are taped envelopes, and each has on the name of someone on site. Those names are also written on slips of paper and one is randomly slipped into each envelope. When you go to 'your' envelope, this slip of paper is the name of the person that you are going to act as 'Kindness Angel' for for the duration of the event. Of course, people are away from home and have limited resources to create large or flashy kindnesses, so they're being inventive. It is marvelous to see people sneaking away other people's dishes to wash, leaving kind notes, and paying forward treats from the tuck shop. And as people have kindness on their minds, they're not just providing little kindnesses for their own person, but for everyone. It's lovely to see. Following the last course I gave my younger son 'his' envelope as it was stuffed full of little notes. Someone had drawn him a little lego character, someone else had gifted him a beautiful snail's shell that they had found. He's kept it all :)
