Human Kindness #10: Love Thy Neighbour

Welcome back to Human Kindness! If you haven’t already, please check out Human Kindness: Introduction for the background to this blog series! These stories are NOT all my own, they have been submitted to me for the purpose of this series and are a collection from some of the kindest people I know or who have contacted me to share their story.

I am ALWAYS on the lookout for kindness stories, so please do get in touch if you have one, there is a chance for you to submit yours at the end of this post (and I will always keep them anonymous). As always, if you’d like to receive these stories directly to your inbox every Monday morning, sign up to the mailing list at the end of this post.

This week’s story is honestly one of the reasons I’m moving house. I dream of having a wonderful community of neighbours around me, and this story is just so beautiful.

“I recently moved into my new home and from the very first day was struck by how lovely, kind, and welcoming all the neighbours have been. They are always around to help, so friendly and there is a real sense of community in my road.

In the days leading up to Christmas Day last year, I contracted COVID. I was already devastated because it meant I couldn’t drive to my hometown to spend Christmas with my family, but then I remembered I had come into contact with one of my neighbours the day before (I was testing negative at the time). I was so nervous about messaging her to tell her I had COVID in case she was upset or annoyed that her whole family might get it, especially so close to Christmas when everybody was already nervous and trying to avoid it. I knew I had to message her though, and her response blew me away.

She went to the pharmacy to get me some more tests and she messaged me every single day to see how I was feeling. She sent me funny memes to cheer me up and constantly asked if I needed anything from the shop whilst I was isolating. I couldn’t believe the amount of kindness she showed me when I know she must have been worried about her and her family catching it. It really brightened a horrible week and I was so unbelievably grateful.”

Have you experienced an act of kindness recently? Maybe you have done something for somebody that you haven’t yet shared for fear of being judged to be “bragging” or you have been on the receiving end of a kindness that somebody has shown you. My inbox is ALWAYS open for your kindness stories so please submit them!

Stories will be treated with discretion and published anonymously at all times, and I will share as much or as little information as you wish. Message me using the form below and I’ll be sure to feature your story in an upcoming post.

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