Kindness in the midst of war
(Originally from CNN, written by Sarah Friar and Cynthia Bissett Germanotta, published April 4.) ）
Editor-in-Chief: Sarah Friar is president of Neighborhood, the nation's largest neighborhood social app, where residents of the same neighborhood can connect with each other, communicate messages, trade goods and services, and more. Cynthia Bissett Germanotta is the president of the Born To Be Foundation, which was founded in 2012 by Gemmanotta and her daughter Lady Gaga. In 2017, the foundation launched Good Ways , a website for young people to share stories of kindness.
Under the haze of the global epidemic, a ray of hope is not afraid of dark clouds, shining on the earth.
Kindness is everywhere — employees at the Atlanta grocery store regularly deliver food to the elderly in the community, and a father in the San Francisco Bay Area runs an online story session for his children to keep other weary parents busy.
These stories are about generosity and passion, and these little kindnesses are constantly emerging around the world.
In this stormy time, kindness can help us get through this. Of course, kindness cannot keep you safe from poison, but it can comfort your soul and protect your spiritual health during this special period, and it can enhance community cohesion and inspiration.
In the war epidemic, goodwill has become a daily habit of people.
In this crisis, in addition to the medical staff who are on the front lines of the epidemic, goodwill has become the second pillar of vulnerable groups.
On major online platforms, a variety of acts of kindness are staged every day. A group of strangers get together and work together to organize medical supplies transportation services for the hospital. Neighbors are united and cooperative to support small local businesses.
Neighborhood statistics show that the word "thank you" has more than doubled the number of times this week, and this grateful word is a measure of goodwill that shows that we are supporting each other and working together.
Studies have shown that when disaster strikes, various acts of kindness begin to emerge in society. A 2008 study on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina showed that most people chose to respond to post-disaster reconstruction in a positive, generous way, and that shattered the long-standing myth that in the face of disaster, human nature is inherently evil. We need to know that goodwill does not only exist in disasters, in fact, kindness is our nature, and relevant research has shown that some human qualities, such as kindness, have long been engraved in our DNA.
Human nature is good, but many people have become strangers to their neighbors.
Since ancient times, people have had varying degrees of dependence on their neighbors, and it is this dependence that inspires goodwill, and in ancient hunter-gatherer tribes, this dependence was a matter of life and death, and in the suburban communities of the 1950s, people may need to borrow a cup of sugar from their neighbors.
In the book Tribe, author Sebastian Junger expresses his grief over the lack of "tribal ties" in modern society. In a later interview, he went on to say, "You're part of the tribe because that's where you live, and the rest of the tribe is your neighbor." When a tribe has a common goal, members will communicate and work together to contribute to the construction of the tribe. ”
In today's fragmented society, where communities lack a common purpose, neighbors are strangers, we no longer depend on each other and need each other, and research shows that feelings of isolation and loneliness are becoming more common around the world. A Cigna Group study found that in the United States, more than 40 percent of adults feel lonely in their daily lives. At the same time, the study shows that "loneliness affects people's life expectancy, this effect is equivalent to smoking 15 cigarettes a day, and the impact of loneliness on people's health is more terrible than obesity." ”
Under the epidemic, community contact is back.
It's time to get back to the big home of the community, so help each other as far as you can!
Online, people use online platforms to bridge the divide and give to their communities.
The Internet connects users from all over the world, but it can't get the essentials to the elderly, and the importance of neighbors is made clear.
As part of the community, we can only be healthier and stronger if we continue to strengthen our connection with the community, not only in terms of psychological and physical conditions, but even in the economic situation.
Spreading kindness is good for physical and mental health, and it will strengthen the foundations of the community.
A report by the Born So Foundation compared the mental health of a group of young people aged 15 to 24 and found that young people who believe they live in a friendly and harmonious community are in a better psychological state. This suggests that the link between goodwill and mental health is built into our formative years, and that this connection remains ingrained in our hearts even as adults. In addition, it is crucial to make a positive link between physical and mental health, which has been confirmed by multiple studies.
So how can we strengthen our connection with our communities during this particular period of social distancing? Here are some tips:
Help your neighbor walk your dog.
Email local merchants asking how to support their business. (e.g. purchase of gift cards, etc.)
Help the elderly to get medicine.
Regularly call people living alone to confirm that they are safe.
Arrange video chats and online play for children in the community.
Please share your goodwill story on platforms such as Neighborhood, Good Way, and the Born So Foundation's Story Sharing Section.
At this critical juncture, these small acts of kindness are like a fountain of clarity, refreshing the heart and the heart, and have a long history. Our acts of kindness will not only warm others, but also comfort ourselves, take action, friends, let us work together and fight side by side!