Dignity in relationships

We have just returned from a night in the Port Lympne Reserve Hotel.  A stunningly beautiful place set in fabulous grounds with the sounds of the animals in the background.  I cannot praise this place enough for its attention to detail.

However, from staying in the hotel to being taken on a safari trip around the grounds it was the staff that had the most impact on me.  They were all, without exception, smiley and treated each other well and were just charming to the members to the public visiting their place of work.

The aim is to treat the animals well even driving slowly past an elderly elephant’s enclosure because he is not well and they did not want to upset him.  However, the whole ethos of the place was to treat all animals well and with dignity.  If someone is struggling with a long uphill walk we were told to ring the office and they would send the minibus to collect us.

I think this environment is built on kindness and it was a pleasure to visit.  Thank you.

Thank you

Today a friend sent me a link to a short video clip on kindness:  https://www.facebook.com/die.koepfe.der.genies/video/1542118169374657/.  It is not in my language and that does not matter.  It shows small acts of kindness that are so easy to take for granted, like picking up a baby or toddler’s toy when they have thrown it out of their pram. Picking up a bottle left in the park and putting it in the rubbish bin.  Instead of complaining that someone is in your way, helping the person struggling with a pushchair getting off the bus.

Small acts of kindness are important and infectious.  If someone is kind to you it is more likely that you will feel good and be kind to other people.

I truly believe that kindness could make such a difference to our everyday lives, whether it is being kind to ourselves or others.

A lift

One of the really good things that never fails to give me a lift when I visit Brighton is travelling on the buses.  They are frequent, safe and clean which I appreciate with mostly really nice drivers.

It is not this that particularly resonates as different from other places I visit, it is the travellers.  The buses are such that we use the same door to both get on and off the bus which means we pass the driver twice.  Most people say thank you to the driver as they get off the bus.  Even the young ‘cool’ boys will say ‘cheers mate’.  The drivers make some polite comment in return.  This whole interaction lends to kindness in the air and I certainly get off the bus feeling lighter than when I got on.

This made me realise just how the London bus drivers who get complained at when buses are late or stuck in traffic don’t get the words ‘thank you’ that they deserve.  This was further brought to my attention when a small mentally and physically disabled little boy struggled to get on the bus with his mum.  When he was struggling to get off the bus at a door further back he shouted ‘thank you driver’.  Bless his little heart, we can learn so much from people like him and I am sure it made the driver feel good.

So my message to the many bus drivers who I do not say thank you for delivering me safely to my destination due to the proximity of the doors and the crowded corridors THANK YOU!