Kindness is no more . . .

You could be forgiven for thinking this and the images from Europe – the refugees, the tear gas, the barbed wire, the suffering – might seem to support such a view.

You’d be mistaken, however. It isn’t the case.

Kindness survives. It persists. It endures . . .

In our homes. In our communities. In our hearts. In our thoughts and in our deeds . . .

In the small acts. These little things don’t often make it onto the mainstream news agenda.

That doesn’t mean that such things – such kindnesses – don’t occur. Far from it, in fact.

Take, for instance, the moment last weekend that Danielle Coonradt, a police officer in Troy, New York, sat down outside the courtroom to eat her breakfast. It’s a moment captured on camera. The image is blurry, but it matters not.

Everything that is important has been captured. The small act. The kindness. The connection . . .

In these terms, the picture couldn’t be clearer.

Sitting down next to Officer Coonradt is a man called Eric Dineen. He is homeless. On the morning in question, the rain had been falling for quite some time and, with nowhere to shelter, Eric’s need was obvious . . .

That Officer Coonradt sat down next to him, spoke to him like a human being and shared her breakfast proves that, despite suggestions to the contrary, kindness endures.

In our thoughts and in our deeds. In the small acts. The things that matter.

‘She decided to share her breakfast with someone who needed it more, it’s a great message,’ said Kyle McCauley Belocopitsky, who took the image from across the street.

‘It’s the first time that’s ever happened to me,’ admitted Eric afterwards. ‘You know, sitting down and eating with an officer. We talked about everything that’s going on with me. She said that normally, she just sits in the car to eat breakfast.’

This might seem like a small act, but the fact that, for once, Officer Coonradt chose to leave her car, to talk, to share and to connect, is a big thing. The reason? Kindness is contagious . . .

Not long afterwards, Samantha Fredette, who works at Bruegger’s Bagels, just up from the courthouse, spotted another homeless man and, inspired, decided to do something about it.

‘I figured, you know, good karma,’ she explained. ‘He needed a little food in his stomach and so I brought him a bagel and cream cheese’.

The chain reaction has begun. There’s no telling where it might end . . .

‘I just hope that, if everyone does a little more for those less fortunate, we’ll have a better society,’ added Kyle. This is a hope that, here at OM®, we all share.

That kindness lives is clear. In our hearts. In our thoughts and in our deeds. If everyone could just do a little more to connect, to be a little more like Danielle Coonradt, we WILL make a big difference . . .

To those around us. To those in need. To the refugees in Europe. To those dealing with the devastating earthquake in Chile this morning. To those in our own communities. On our own doorsteps. To those crying out for a little compassion.

Kindness survives. It persists. It endures . . .

We are all connected.