Acts of Kindness Create Community

Tonight I visited a member of the Liberal Party, to renew her membership. I have only met this woman a handful of times but we always hit it off. She has a dog of a breed (Shih Tzu) similar to mine (Lhasa Apso) and we chat about our dogs, our families, and of course, politics. It doesn't take long to figure out that this woman has a heart of gold and she talks about the friends she visits that are dying and how she focusses on all the positive things when she visits them, to cheer them. She has several grandchildren and she has embroidered them tablecloths, made them quilts and knitted them sweaters, socks, scarves and mitts.

Everytime I have visited her, she is knitting. I asked her tonight if she ever got tired of it and she said "Never." I asked her about the sweater she was knitting and I learned that indeed, she has a heart of gold. The sweater, she explained, was being made for next Christmas. For years, this woman has been knitting clothing for "the less fortunate" and every year, just before Christmas, her son puts all of her knitting in boxes and delivers them anonymously to a local charity.

Her friends find her the wool for her craft and she took great delight in telling me how one of her friends came over with her small car filled to the brim with all kinds of lovely brand new wool. Apparently, her friend was at a flea market, and when she told the seller about this woman's generosity and apparent mission in life to give anonymously, the seller gave her the wool.

Isn't is amazing how acts of kindness are contagious? Through this one woman's selfless giving, she has inspired others to do the same - her friend to look for wool, and the seller of the wool to donate it, and me to write about it. I left her home thinking about the many countless act of kindness that go on in our world that make it a better place.