Small acts of kindness toward acquaintances and strangers offer great health benefits and make us feel more secure. Frank Lipman, MD, pioneer of functional medicine
Yesterday, I witnessed a random act of kindness in a parking lot. Just before I arrived to meet up with my Smoking Pots (a cooking group) friends, one of them tripped and fell. She’s on blood thinners so she was bleeding more than usual from her knee and had a bruise developing on her wrist. A stranger immediately came to her aid, helped her up while another stranger ran to the grocery store for frozen peas to stop the bruising.
I was concerned and feeling bad for my friend (she’s ok and came to lunch with us) but my heart sang to have the confirmation that there are good people in the world who are ready to help a stranger. Dr. Lipman says that an act of kindness can shift us out of our single point of view and away from our personal problems into a shared experience. For a moment, we remember that we’re all in this together.
Affirmation: I’m ready to offer kindness.
Coaching questions: How would you feel if you helped to a stranger? How does being helped make you feel? Look for ways to offer random acts of kindness.
Life after losing a mother 