The past year has taught us the importance of kindness, whether it is through donations, helping others or, just being nice to people.

Today is Random Acts of Kindness Day, but the past 12 months have shown that kindness is not just reserved for one day a year – and it is something that we all need plenty of.

In February last year, as we were hearing about a disease spreading through a Chinese province, the hashtag #bekind was trending following the sudden and tragic death of presenter Caroline Flack, who took her own life after facing prosecution for assaulting her partner.

Her sudden death was fresh in the memory when the coronavirus pandemic hit and we were plunged into lockdown. Panic and desperation kicked in as people tried to struggle through the uncertainty of work, schooling, shopping for essentials, and the very real fear of catching this deadly disease.

As the pandemic unfolded and lockdown continued to bite, we were moved by incredible acts of kindness, such as the late, great Captain Sir Tom More raising money for the NHS and footballer Marcus Rashford taking on the UK government over free school meals for underprivileged children.

These are among the hundreds of thousands of compassionate acts that took place across the country, with people looking out for each other, especially the vulnerable.

Laptops and tablets were donated to help children learn at home and donations of food and cash poured in to ensure no one went hungry.

The Random Acts of Kindness website describes the importance of being kind as follows: “Even the smallest act of kindness can change a life. In 2021, we encourage everyone to Explore the Good and Make Kindness the Norm.

“Stories come to us on a daily basis. They are beautiful and heart-warming, but mostly they give us hope. We hear of seemingly insignificant moments where a stranger helps another stranger and impacts the rest of their life with a small gesture. When we tune into kindness happening around us, the day seems a little bit brighter. The week seems a little more manageable.”

It is incredible and heart-warming that something which costs nothing can make such a big difference to someone’s life.

And it is often the little things that make the biggest difference. Whether it is saying good morning to someone who is struggling – whether they are a friend or stranger – or helping in any way you can, it can mean everything to that person and pull them back from a dark and dangerous place.

What you do is also as important as what you don’t do. With everything that is going on at the moment, not making a sarcastic or cutting remark about someone and not laughing at their misfortune can be more important than a positive gesture.

It is easy to mock the colleague who has forgotten to unmute themselves on Zoom, or are struggling to send important documents electronically. You have no idea of the difficulties and struggles they are experiencing, both professionally and personally. If they are facing financial pressure, struggling to get the food they need and are worried about a family member who has developed covid symptoms, rolling your eyes because their wi-fi is freezing could be the final straw.

You might not be able to offer practical help, but showing support – even if it is refraining from being critical – is an act of kindness.

Before the pandemic, you rarely knew what battles people were facing. Now, the only certainty is that more people are facing challenges and we have all found things difficult over the past 11 months.

If you can offer a job to someone out of work, laptops and tablets for schools, or food for those going without, that is amazing. 

Few are in positions such as these, but what we all can do – and it will make an even bigger difference – is just to be kind.

#ExploreTheGood #MakeKindnessTheNorm #RandomActsofKindnessDay