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It's a kind of magic..
LITTLE acts of kindness. They make the world go round.
And the more I come across them, the surer I am of that fact.
Take, for example, the past few days. A lovely volunteer from the Calderdale branch of the NSPCC dropped off a beautiful card thanking me for inviting her and her fellow volunteers to sell raffle tickets at the Courier's Literary Lunch.
The card, incidentally, had been hand-made by this volunteer. It showed a lovely picture of the fabulous gardens at Manor Heath. These cards are regularly made by this volunteer for NSPCC funds.
I was touched. I was also thrilled that in the space of around an hour, they had managed to make over 200 for NSPCC funds.
It might not be a king's ransom but every penny will make a huge difference to vulnerable children and young people in the area.
The thanks were not really mine, though, they belonged to the kind-hearted and generous literary lunch guests who dipped into their pockets.
It's funny though because it is so often the case that one little act of kindness leads on to another and along the way, it brightens people's days and brings a bit of sunshine to what could otherwise be a gloomy day.
The acts are simple but powerful in the messages they convey.
It's like the neighbour with a garden full of daisies who leans over the wall while you are pegging out the washing and says cheerily: "If you fancy a vase full, just help yourself."
This is the same neighbour who asks if you want a cutting or two.
Or the friends who kindly ask you to lunch, to sit in their lovely garden and chew over world events.
Or the person in Tesco's queue who has a basket brimming over with shopping, takes one look at your two items and says: "Here, go before me."
Or the colleague who brings cakes (three different delicious varieties) into the office because it is their birthday – a day, when logically they should be the subject of the treat.
Or another colleague who leaves two squares of chocolate on your desk because she is far too kind to eat a whole bar herself.
All of these little things have happened to me in the past week or so. All of them might be judged to be incidental but believe me they are not.
And I know it was clever marketing but even so it made my day when two mouthwatering bars of Lindt "unadulterated real chocolate" came through the post from a PR firm (I did share them, by the way).
When life seems a big worry with people losing jobs, homes and their zest for everything in general, little acts of kindness can make all the difference.
They're like a lottery win – but without the big fat cheque, of course.
Something to make you smile.
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Weather for Halifax
Saturday 11 February 2012
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Temperature: -2 C to 0 C
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