Kindness

Finding peace on a bench at the waters edge

Finding luck in the kindness of strangers

Finding release as the wind carries your worries out into the open blue

Lake Michigan Coastline. Racine, WI. Spread kindness

I went to the lake because I needed a minute. I needed a little bit of calm among the chaos that seems to be filling our world and social media feeds recently. As I sat on my bench near the waters edge I watched as a woman walked while her two younger children ran around hiding their brightly painted rocks. The women approached me, handed me a rock and said, “Here you go. A little bit of luck for you.”

Racine Rocks. Painted Rocks. Spread Kindness

This little token of luck felt like a gentle nudge from the universe. While this shamrock painted rock may have been created with luck in mind, it brought me a little extra peace that afternoon. I retreated to the lake that afternoon to calm the many thoughts in my head- how long will myself and those closest to me be out of work, how big will this whole ordeal become, how will this effect how each of us move forward with our day to day lives, how long will we all be filled with this strange mix of uncertainty and caution. The smallest kind gesture, a hand painted rock, helped me stop for a moment. It reminded me to trust in the universe, remember that things happen for a reason even if it feels impossible to find it and that through all of this there is still so much kindness and good to focus on, we just may have to look a little bit harder for it.

I figured I’d share some of the kindness, the good and the heartwarming from our world these last few days because we can all definitely use a little bit of that in our lives!

Bill Gates has stepped down from Microsoft

How does this fall into the kind, good, heartwarming category? Well, because Bill Gates stepped down so that he can focus more on humanitarian efforts including climate change and global health initiatives.

Penguins are enjoying the calm at the Shedd Aquarium

With the Shedd Aquarium being closed to the public, the penguins have had some time to go adventuring. It’s hard not to smile watching them check out the other creatures! Watch here!