The world sometimes feels like it is spiralizing out of control! People are stressed. The pace of life is phrenetic. Could showing kindness improve our stress levels? A study by Yale and UCLA researchers suggests that giving to others with random acts of kindness may indeed reduce our own stress and improve our mental health. One of the beatitudes of the Bible is “It is more blessed to give than receive.” This means that the giver is happier than the getter! Many of you are extremely generous people – we know because we have witnessed your generosity! Giving to others enlarges our hearts. When we sacrificially give of our finances and/or our time, we take the focus off ourselves and put it on others. As in the 1940’s movie “It’s a Wonderful Life!” sometimes we have no idea the effect we have had on someone’s life, even by doing something small.
Performing small kindness gestures every day helps others and gives great joy to the giver. Who doesn’t love it when someone you don’t even know says or does something kind for you? Give a hug, a smile, say a few encouraging words, hold the door open for someone, help someone with a task, or ask someone if he or she needs help. Be a person who goes about life finding ways to encourage someone else! Not only will helping others buffer the negative effects of our own stress, but it will improve our overall well-being and improve our own emotional and mental health. This study reported that those who reported lower than usual helping behaviors also reported lower positive emotion and higher negative emotion in response to high daily stress. So we encourage you to talk to strangers. Give a kind word! Be a light!