In some people, above all else, kindness is the standard they choose to honour.Since I noticed it, I no longer look at people in the same way.
It all started after the holiday season.
I was having lunch with a friend.We were telling each other about our holidays.Me, in Canada. Her, in Switzerland.
And we came to the same conclusion, spontaneously, without having discussed it beforehand.We had both been surprised by people’s kindness.
It was unexpected.And it stayed with us.At least enough for both of us to mention it.
Since then, I have been observing what happens around me differently.
I have noticed those people who, through a word, a gesture, an unnecessary act of care, shift something.
The person who unlocked my training file with a smile, even though it had been stuck for months.The calm and reassuring tradesman who took the time to explain how to optimize the use of my boiler.
It is not spectacular.But it is real.And it feels good.
What I have understood is that, for these people, kindness is not secondary.It is not just about being pleasant.
It is a commitment.A choice and a stance.
Today, being kind is not easy.It means going against the current.Against speed, pressure, and indifference.
It is an intentional act.A form of ethics, a quiet courage.And sometimes even a form of resistance.
Resisting the temptation to rush.Resisting indifference.Resisting everything around them that pushes them to do “just what is necessary.”
After almost four months of observation, here is what reassures me.There are more of them than we think, but we do not notice them enough.
So today, I want to invite us to look around.These people exist.They are here, in the simple gestures of everyday life.
And they change the atmosphere, quietly.
Noticing them is first a way of doing them justice,and it is also a way of changing how we look at others.And perhaps, a little, at the world.
And you, who is the person whose kindness has stayed with you recently?