During these dark days, every smile or tender gesture you can inspire is more meaningful than ever. Many of us work hard to be strong and committed to surviving but sometimes we forget that we need to help others build their resiliency skills. I hope the inspiring stories below will help you find a way to light up someone’s day.
In a nearby town, a local poet called the Sidewalk Poet is writing poems on popular sidewalks. The verses are inspiring, thoughtful and smile-inducing. The city’s Facebook group is filled with pictures of the poems and everyone talks about how much fun they have searching for new poems. A few lucky people have even caught the poet creating the sidewalk poetry! Of course, staying 6 plus feet away from each other.
A professor for a university moved all her classes online and her students are very stressed right now. Today was the first online class. The professor wore a dinosaur costume the entire time. Students laughed and thanked the professor for bringing some fun into an otherwise dark time. Those students will never forget this kind and joyous gesture.
The Gavrieli company produces ballet flats called Tieks and they have a very large private Facebook group of customers who are passionate about the shoes. The Tieks staff started a movement called the #SewTOGETHER that includes gift cards for those who make face masks for doctors and nurses. Over 350,000 masks have already been sewn and donated to more than 1,500 medical facilities in all 50 states through this challenge and pictures of the masks in the group lightens everyone’s spirits.
As an essential business in most parts of the United States, animal shelters have to remain open. People are concerned that staff and volunteers take a risk every time they leave home. To combat this, someone at a shelter puts out a call for people to sign-up as foster families. This gets the animals into homes where they can be cared for and socialized during this difficult time. Some shelters are reporting that the new foster families have emptied the shelter for the first time since they opened. Both the foster families and the staff and volunteers have benefited from this compassionate gesture.
I’d love to know what small gestures you are making. Or, what gestures have brought a smile to your face?
#Pandemic #Joy #Happiness