Last Sunday I was attending a little Anglican Church and across the street was a bakery and I thought I would grab a cup of tea as I headed into Church: not what I would normally do but it was freezing cold. Anyway the bakery had a $10 minimum on Eftpos so I walked out. Went into the Cafe next door and asked the lady, who was the owner (I could tell that from the exchange we had as she made the tea), if she had an Eftpos minimum. She said yes $10 but if its under $10 she just charges 25 cents as that’s what it costs her. I was happy with that so she started making the tea. As she did that, I chatted to her and another younger lady who was clearly being trained….so we chatted about how her second day was going etc.

Anyway all that took 5 minutes. The lady gave me the tea and when I handed her my card she simply said…’its on the house, come back one day and have dinner’.

Now this ‘free’ tea probably cost the lady 50 cents and she probably had to forgo $2.50 in profit….but this simple act of kindness warmed my heart more than the tea warmed my body. I reflected on this. What is it about kindness that is so powerful? Possibly because it’s completely unexpected. Possibly because it so rare? Possibly because it often comes from strangers? I am not entirely sure. But its powerful and its awesome.

I have been working on refreshing the brand of National Others Week that is coming up during the first week of November and so I have been thinking a lot on the Power of Kind. Just maybe it’s a completely unharnessed power that builds community, lightens the burden that people carry, makes people smile and just celebrates our common humanity.

Whatever the secret power is behind the Power of Kind, is immaterial:- we just need more of it.

Be incredibly kind today. It will change lives.

Categories: Australian, Global Care

Tags: Being kind, National Others Week, Peter Pilt talks about kindness, Power of Kind, Power of Kindness