Day 72: A cup of kindness

Being kind by buying a stranger a coffee:

My spirits have taken a battering recently with one thing or another, and so I took myself out for a soul stroll in this morning’s magical mist.

I walked into my local town and stopped at my local coffee shop for my usual, a decaf soy flat white.

Feeling pretty down in the dumps, I decided to reach out and show kindness to a stranger. From the acts of kindness I’ve been doing over the last few months, I know how much they lift my spirits too. And to be honest, this has been an unexpected bonus, it’s like experiencing a wonderful side effect from the kindness act itself.

So today I decided to buy a stranger a coffee.

I paid for the extra coffee and asked the barista to choose a customer who’ll receive the free cup, and give them my kindness card which reads: “You are an incredible person. Enjoy your coffee Xxx”

Kindness Card: Coffee's on me

I instantly felt my spirits lift.

In an article titled “5 Side Effects of Kindness on Health”, kindness author Dr David Hamilton explains why:

“When we do something kind for someone else, we feel good. On a spiritual level, many people feel that this is because it is the right thing to do and so we’re tapping into something deep and profound inside of us that says, ‘This is who I am.’

On a biochemical level, it is believed that the good feeling we get is due to elevated levels of the brain’s natural versions of morphine and heroin, which we know as endogenous opioids. They cause elevated levels of dopamine in the brain and so we get a natural high, often referred to as ‘Helper’s High’.”

So it’s a win-win.

I hope it brings a smile to the face of the recipient on this chilly, misty morning as it has to mine.

So with this in mind, my happy for today is being kind by buying a stranger a coffee.

8 thoughts on “Day 72: A cup of kindness”

  1. Loved this post! Imagine if there was even just one day a year where everyone did a random act of kindness as a collective project, how amazing would the effects be xॐx

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