She addresses me as “Mrs. Chan”. Every morning when I meet her, she greets me with a smile and says “Good morning, Mrs. Chan.”
I’ve no idea what makes her so pleasant, maybe her smile, gesture, or greeting, but she just is. She is one of the teachers in my son’s kindergarten. Seeing someone as pleasant as her every morning really makes my day.
On the same note, when I walk into my office every morning, I’ll greet the receptionist and security guards with a smile too. I feel good, and I hope that I can make someone else’s day a great one too.
Let me ask you a question – How would you rate ‘kindness’ in Singapore on a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being highest)? I would probably give 8/10. From my own experiences living in Singapore for the past 12 years, I’ve met many kind and helpful people.
When I was pregnant with Little Edison six years ago, I took a bus to work every morning. Passengers would offer their seats whenever they saw me standing. I was very grateful to these kind people; else my legs will surely suffer a cramp if I need to stand all the way to my office with my big belly.
We have nice and friendly neighbours who often offer us with cakes and cookies, help to receive our parcels when we’re not at home, invite us to their parties and exchange gifts on special occasions.
I’ve seen Singaporeans giving directions to tourists whenever they need help. I’ve seen Singaporeans giving out generous donations to charities, poor and unfortunate people, as well as disaster victims. And I’ve also seen Singaporeans doing voluntary works at elderly and children’s homes.
But having said that, I’ve also witnessed people who are ignorant, selfish, and inconsiderate. For instance, they occupied a big table in a food court when others still didn’t have a seat. They left the table with a mess and expect someone else to clean up for them.
Anyway, I believe they’re just the minority. Singapore, in general, is a gracious society and kindness is in almost everyone. In fact, kindness has also been listed as a top virtue that matters to Singaporeans in the many national dialogues held recently.
World Kindness Day
On 13 Nov 2012, World Kindness Day, we joined the Singapore Kindness Movement (SKM) in celebrating kindness with a lot of laughter, good cheer and exciting performances at VivoCity Sky Park Amphitheater.
SKM encourages everyone to start, show and share kindness with the hope of creating a gracious society in Singapore, and make life better for all of us. On the other hand, ‘A Nation of Kindness’ aims to celebrate kindness in our country through appreciating all the supporters for their efforts over the past years.
The event started at 4:30pm. Hundreds of supporters joined the event for an afternoon of entertainment and fun! There are photo-taking booths and photo-taking session with Singa The Lion. Volunteers were busy distributing goodie bags to the supporters. It was a rainy afternoon, but it did not dampen everyone’s spirits at all.
Power98 DJ Emily Teng was the emcee for the event. The children from Kranji Primary School and Westwood Secondary School gave a wonderful opening performance.
The event was later opened by the Guest-Of-Honour, Mr. Yam Ah Mee, Chief Executive Director of People’s Association. He underlined the importance of kindness in our everyday life, and urged the supporters to give a pat and a big ‘Thank You’ to person sitting next to them.
After his enthusiastic opening speech that left everyone raving and cheering, we were treated to a delightful performance by Dream Academy, featuring Robin Goh, Selena Tan, Kumar, Siti Khalijah and Judee Tan.
I particularly enjoyed the performance by Siti Khalijah and Judee Tan, where they played the roles of a hotel service staff and traditional medicine sinseh, and talked about kindness in their scope of work. The audience was laughing all the way with their humorous collection of stories.
The event ended at around 6:30pm with an interesting Daisy Umbrella formation by all the supporters and audience. V was so delighted to take a picture with Mr. Yam Ah Mee!
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Join #aNationofKindness Instagram Contest!
If you’re a firm believer of kindness, I encourage you to join #aNationofKindness Instagram contest. Show what kindness means to you in a single photo and you stand a chance to win exclusive gift vouchers worth $100.
How to do it? Simple! I’m sure all of us have Instagram. Using Instagram, simply hashtag your photos with #aNationofKindness and a caption that explains the meaning behind them. Contest closes on 30 November 2012. Multiple entries are allowed, but only one photo per user is entitled to win.
More details are available HERE.
“Like” Singapore Kindness Facebook Page now!
Come! Let’s show your support by clicking “Like” on Singapore Kindness Movement Facebook page now!
Here’s an interesting compilation video of SKM to share with you:
This is a Blogger’s Edition video, and I’m proud to be a part of it! Check me out!
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Every day should be filled with kindness, but this week is a perfect opportunity for everyone to do something extra special. Opportunities for kindness occur many times throughout the day. It can be as simple as opening the door for someone, give a ‘Thank You’ note, or make a donation to the Red Cross, children’s home and other organizations – to someone in need of kindness.
Imagine if everyone shows their acts of kindness to others on a daily basis, what a kinder and gentler place the world would become. Acts of kindness not only benefit those to who it is directed, but the giver will receive blessings as well.
Last but not least, our daily lives can take on some unexpected pleasantries if we make a concerted effort to spread kindness around us. We can make someone else’s day a great one, and at the same time, we bring new meaning and joy to our own life.
Let’s make Singapore a more gracious nation, every single day!
