Acts of kindness

Nick
Former Community Manager
Former Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

Acts of kindness

20160721_SeasonalQ2_Carla_Portland_Elliott_1322.jpg

 

Hi everyone,

 

It is striking that when most people hear the term "mental health" they associate it with something negative, an illness like depression instead of something positive like balance or happiness.

 

As we are halfway through the Mental Health Awareness Week (18th-24th May) in the UK, I was thinking of honouring this year's theme, kindness

 

Why not shine a light on everyday examples of taking the time to go the extra mile for yourself and others?

 

I think this will be a great discussion for our community as a way of reflecting on daily acts of kindness, whether small or large. By sharing our stories we can inspire each other and become better and stronger.

 

Thanks,

 

Nick

51 Replies 51

oh please! that's a real good morning haha. Did you start a proper diet @Nick rather than cooking all the recipes the members post?

Stephanie
Community Manager
Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

@David6824 

 

Myself and the management team have expressed the guidelines for this community several times now. If there is something you are unsure of please DM me at your earliest convenience. Continued content that is clearly baiting of the team and our other users will not be tolerated. 

 

Thanks

-----

 

Please follow the Community Guidelines 

Sorry Madam @Stephanie , I don't get what you say, my last post in this thread was yesterday and saying "Nothing personal @Nick , I just expected to let you work a bit more. Did you change the top picture in here or you really want guests and host to still share big hugs? My question to you. Cheers mate" which is just a simple observation.

 

In short: you're paid by the company which is paid by us hosts madam if you got it yet and I pretend more respect from you and your colleagues such as nick who pulled my leg for days. Said that, thank you and have a great day

Yadira22
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Nick 

I really miss my family and friends- and even though putting into words is not the easiest for me (partly because the cynic in me thinks words are cheap), I show them the through small « acts of service », primarily cooking. They love empanadas (I’m sure you have seen these)- they are patties/pies filled usually with cheese or a meat stuffing and deep fried. They are absolutely fattening but so good. 

In typical South American style, my family is big (you date us, you are friends with one of us- then you are fam for life)- so making these from scratch take about 3.5 hours. I like to personalise the fillings to taste, so make cheese, tuna and vegan ones etc- packing them for the individual. I even make a mini set for my niece who is 1.5 years old (so she can safely stuff one into her mouth *SMH*).


The first week was the hardest for everyone, so I made a huge pile of these and delivered them (maintaining social distance) with a small number of face masks. Every other week I make a new pile, send them with risotto, cakes etc, really depends on what they are missing. I love to cook and bake but rarely have time to do this- for me the idea of cooking for myself is daunting but will literally spend hours on it for them. I know it’s not huge but I think the thought and action counts more. 


Right now, the world need more kindness and love- absolutely everyone is hurting one way or another and together, we got this. I constantly remind myself- one day more of live, one day closer to a better normal. Stay safe all! 
Yadira 🙂

 

Fred13
Level 10
Placencia, Belize

Great thread. Speaking of kindness, I am into animal welfare and I have been feeding dogs for 3 years that were totally abandoned in a few islands. By now they know the specific sound of our boat motor, especially Mango & Chico who swim out to us before we even hit the shoreline; they got a chicken home made dinner, but we ran out of ice cream by the time we got to them (island #3), they were bummed, but only until two days from now when we be back. 

Sharon1014
Level 10
Sellicks Beach, Australia

I think the kindness karma is kicking in (oh that was nice alliteration 🙂 ).  Just got another 3 day booking in for next weekend, plus another one for the weekend after.  Nice! 

How encouraging @Sharon1014 . 

Yuan100
Level 10
Singapore

Hi @Nick !

 

Thank you for highlighting this. Kindness is an act of concern or consideration for others. It doesn't have to be monetary terms, but time spent by listening to others or making something to light up a person's day is also an act of kindness. 

 

It's important to remind yourself everyday of something you're grateful for. It may not be something big. For instance, for today I am grateful that my guest shared her leftover takeaway chicken with me which I made into tacos and we ate together. 

 

I believe that we cannot be calculative for every single thing- help, give or share within your capacity. Everything goes in a circle, what you give out, you may received it back in another form. You can't put an exact value in everything. 

 

Yuan 

Nick
Former Community Manager
Former Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

Hi everyone,

 

I'd like to start by thanking you all for your contributions, it is inspiring to see how we can all come together to help each other out in difficult times.

 

It makes sense that as we are all in some sense of lockdown (either in strict or coming out of it, depending on where we live), we will have many posts on COVID-19 and the effect it has on us all, emotionally, economically or otherwise.

 

Having said that, turning a post about mental health week and kindness into a political debate, or worse into an opportunity to talk down to people and argue on their beliefs, is essentially the exact opposite of what this topic is all about. If someone needs to be advised on why kindness matters, there is really not much left to be said.

 

This forum is for hosts to support each other, which is something positive by definition. Insensitive, insulting or personally inflammatory posts go against the very existence of this Community Center and its principles and will be treated as such, either by them being removed or the topic being closed.

 

Many thanks,

Nick

Nick
Former Community Manager
Former Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

Some great and inspiring contributions here today!

 

@Alexandra316 @Yuan100 @Yadira22 @Ann72 @Sharon1014 @Fred13  a big thank you to you all for sharing!

 

As for me, for the past 2 months (the lockdown period), I have kept my promise to my parents to face-time call them every day. I might be a grown man but as their only child, they take great joy by being able to see me for a few minutes. Last time I saw my family in person was in September and with travel restrictions who knows when I'll be able to do so again. I take comfort in the idea of being able to make them happy even though I'm far away. At the end of the day, it makes me feel good about myself too.

 

On a bit less personal tone, in mid-April, I was walking my neighbours’ lovely dog, Camilla, on a twice a day walk, for the 14 days they were self-isolating. I also offered to help them with groceries any time I would go to get my own since finding an online delivery slot at the time was tougher than winning the lottery.

 

Also, you are spot on there @Melodie-And-John0 - I am pretty sure you are already doing those kind things you are talking about 😉

 

Let's keep them coming! 

I'm a great believer in the power of kindness and consideration . We really enjoy helping out our neighbours & they us, around our small village , having a laugh with the old/young folk and feeding the strays along with others, especially youngsters, you'll be pleased to note @Nick  Greece is changing in many ways and animals are now more a part of the community. You can see this on street corners - lots of bowls filled with water and biscuits. Our group's motto is ' We Live Together'. Simple but effective.

 

This now happens even in Athens ( the last time I was there). It makes my heart glad.

 

My mother says it reminds her of the war (!) when everyone started to pull together in the UK, she's 93 years young & still helping others. The old ones, she says... I don't know how she sees herself !?!. So, my thinking comes from her . Vassilis' dad showed everyone great kindness and got it back tenfold, we sang opera together ( our versions … Rigoletto,  a favourite ) and tried to remain cheerful, however hard,  in most circumstances. 

So, yeah, generosity of spirit is the key ,in my mind.

Mechelle1
Level 3
Texas, United States

 David you are so right. Simple acts of kindness make a huge difference. One guy didn’t get in till 2 o’clock in the morning by the time his flights were delayed. That meant he get three or four hours asleep before he had to go to his conference and set up his equipment. I asked him if it would be OK if we drove to the hotel and dropped off his belongings so they would be there for him in the morning and at least he wouldn’t have to put all of that stuff in an Uber . It was something simple and easy to do but it meant a lot to him when he was so tired. Just going out of your way a little bit makes a huge difference

Sorry to bother you again but the photo post banner you published shows guests and host hugging. I don’t think it’s the right rules right now. LOL could you please replace it? Or you’re getting us users a bit confused, it looks like the commercial of cars such as VW speeding up in the country side during lockdown. Thank you mate, I know you very smart 🙂

Ian-And-Anne-Marie0
Level 10
Kendal, United Kingdom

Some threads can be really boring.

 

I was reading a very informative and interesting thread here yesterday with a full rundown on Airbnb policies and lots of pleasant discussion. Unlike me, I read the whole lot from beginning to end! All about the review system., its twist and turns and solutions and interesting posters. You can read it here:

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Hosting/Review-rules-changed/td-p/969223/highlight/true

I really would encourage everybody to read that thread right to the end.

 

In that thread there was a 'David' referenced. Might that be you @David6824 ?

 

You can check out the post here:

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Hosting/Review-rules-changed/m-p/974876/highlight/true#M244382

 

David.jpg

@Nick 

If the cap fits, @Ian-And-Anne-Marie0 ! - Certainly sounds as if the poster-from-beyond-the-grave was describing Troll David, but probably not as he seemed to be new here in the CC.....

 

I'M DELIGHTED TO HEAR HE'S BEEN BANNED FROM THE CC!