When a world leader says he is done with prioritising peace because he was overlooked for its biggest prize, our wellbeing meter falls a little more.
Granted, the tantrum chucker was the regularly offended and offender Donald Trump, and true, it was the Nobel Prize for Peace that he coveted. But to discard the pursuit of peace – something so worthy, so necessary – because the judges did not have as high an opinion of his actions as he did could bring the hopeful to tears.
Peace and kindness are in short supply at the moment, and not just on the world stage. When the Royal and Beckham families’ fracturing features in newsfeeds as ‘entertainment’, we are in trouble.
When responses to social media posts telling the community about a young man fighting for life after an alleged coward punch in Ocean Street are peppered with sniggers and cynicism, we are lesser.
Nasties in surf groups taunt those who report a missing board. Meanies in community groups sneer when someone from out of town asks about available accommodation.
It seems so unnecessary and insidiously destructive. It also defies logic, because it hurts the hater as well as the emotional wellbeing of the target.
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Science shows that kindness and calm aid the happiness and health of the individual as well as the group. Even those who witness the act have an improved mood, increasing the likelihood they will ‘pay it forward’. One good deed in a crowded area can create a domino effect, improving the day of dozens of people.
Historically, ‘good news’ stories and acts of kindness don’t attract as much attention as the sadness, conflict and drama that dominate the headlines. But publications such as this one focus on good news, helping right the ship a little. Building up positive community and social capital is a worthy calling.
A man who helps build up others is John Shadforth, founder of Sunshine Coast-based The Encouragement Foundation. He recently extolled the power of someone else’s belief, recalling a tough time when someone else lifted him up by telling him he was more capable than he realised. Lifting someone up takes just as much energy and as many keystrokes as ripping them down.
Random Acts of Kindness Day is February 17. Let’s push a domino ahead of time and let kindness and calm ripple out.
Dr Jane Stephens is a UniSC journalism lecturer, media commentator and writer.
