Hello everyone,
When the OAAP embarked on our first endeavor to celebrate lawyer well-being week, we did not know what would unfold. What we found was sincere participation by our community and care for ourselves and others.
I personally was amazed. We are all living our lives under ever-changing rules and encountering new experiences. Yet, we are able to carve out time to listen, learn, and participate together.
On Tuesday, OAAP Attorney Counselor Kyra Hazilla posted a thoughtful blog about acts of kindness and encouraged us to perform some kindnesses and share them. Fortunately for me, I was designated to be the recipient of what people in our community are doing in the name of kindness. I can tell you that Kyra and the research are correct − reading other people’s acts of kindness inspired me and filled me with love. My own personal acts of kindness were encouraged by what I read because, as noted by the Dartmouth handout, kindness is teachable and kindness is contagious.
I am happy to present the acts of kindness that others reported to me below.
In closing, it has been a pleasure and an education to participate in lawyer well-being week with my colleagues and you. Thank you all.
Wishing you well, and if you need our assistance, don’t hesitate to call or email.
Shari
“The fragrance always stays in the hand that gives the rose.”
~ Hadar Bejar
P.S. My act of kindness continues throughout the week as I reach out to people I do not see often, telling them what they mean to me and what I appreciate about them.
Community Acts of Kindness
Canned Fruit & Spreading Joy
The blog post got me thinking that I had engaged in an act of kindness even though it has felt that I have limited resources (emotionally and otherwise) to do so. My best friend is also my neighbor. Her 80-year-old mother came to live with her during this crisis. She is a picky eater in good times, but she loves my home-canned pears and peaches. Once a week I leave a jar for her on the front porch. I can almost hear her squeal with delight from my house.
Cookies for a Nonprofit
I just wanted to share a fun act of kindness I was able to participate in this week! I had the time over the weekend to bake a lot of cookies, and I dropped them off at p:ear, a nonprofit that is giving out baked goods to the youth they serve.
Extending Support & Friendship
I have given money to a single mother who has a son who is 11. Her profession is an aesthetician, and the place that she works has closed, of course. She is worried that when this is over they may not reopen. She is going to school and working toward becoming an EMT.
I have also given money to my aesthetician whose husband died a year ago from brain cancer. She works out of her home, and her job is the sole source of income for her, and at this point she is not seeing anyone.
I have also had a friend, who is in the throes of a divorce, stay with me for a few days while work is being done on the house she is living in so that it can get ready to be sold.
I so agree with you that when we show kindness to others and do acts of kindness it lifts our spirits in trying times and in good times as well.
Discovering a New Talent
I had a friend ask me if I had any extra cloth masks for her daughter, a 2020 college graduate, who is needing to travel to Omaha, Nebraska, to move out of an apartment. I did have an extra mask to give, but I actually made one for her daughter out of some graduation-themed fabric. I am not a sewer but was able to find a YouTube tutorial and completed the job!
A Child's Kindness in SE Portland
Some of the neighbors on our street have taken to having afternoon gatherings (socially distanced, of course) a few times a week. My family was walking by when one of these was starting, and a neighbor’s young son was so excited that we came by that he wanted to play some music he’s been practicing on his “flute” for my son (who is 11 months old). He serenaded us all with three songs, and it was completely adorable. My son absolutely loved hearing and watching this older child and was smiling the entire time. It was such a sweet moment of kindness between children – it made my heart smile.
Flexibility in Planning
At the time events were being canceled and the governor’s stay-at-home order was issued, I was the team leader responsible for the April CLE for our local Inn of Court. Because the presentation was designed to be interactive, there really was no way to transform it into an online format, especially with a short time frame. Since everything was being canceled, our team agreed to choose a different topic. I had an idea for a presentation based on the sudden health crisis and the need to work remotely. With a short time frame and limited familiarity with the technology, the CLE became a stressful, rather than enjoyable, event to plan. About this same time, one of our Inn members (on a different team) posted on social media that she was an event planner without many events to plan and asked people to send her projects. I followed up on her post, and in one phone call she agreed to take over the presentation and take care of the technology and speakers. One of my team members helped with the written materials and sign-in sheet, and a great, timely CLE presentation came together for our Inn of Court members.
A Civics Lesson
My 6th-grade daughter noticed that I was enjoying following along on her Civics class worksheets. After the first couple of weeks, she started printing an extra set of Civics worksheets for me. So each week, I am following along with learning about the foundations and history of American government.
I am enjoying this week. Thank you and the other OAAP attorney counselors for the simple reminders of the importance of kindness to self and others this week.
