With this week being Random Acts of Kindness Week, it got me thinking about how the world seems to be celebrating kindness now more than ever.
A few years ago, the idea of paying it forward seemed to be surging. I think it all started with Suspended Coffee. John Sweeney, a kindness coach from Cork, Ireland, began promoting Suspended Coffee as an easy way to make someone’s day. It’s pretty simple – you would go to the register to buy a cup of coffee and find out that someone had already paid for it. He based it on a tradition in Naples, Italy, where working-class people would regularly buy coffee for others.
But I believe this act of service and doing something for others has gotten even bigger. I recently saw an article about reality TV shows becoming nice.
If you think about it, when American Idol debuted in 2002, Simon Cowell became legendary for being brutally honest. Audiences loved that he told people they would never have a career in singing. As the seasons progressed, the people auditioning became more ridiculous and the critique got nastier. Reality shows went from watching a few people in a house try to get along, like the Real World MTV, to table flipping, hair-pulling fights on Jersey Shore, The Real Housewives, and the Bad Girls Club.
But the tables have turned. Making It on NBC and The Great British Baking Show may eliminate someone each week, but each celebrates craftsmanship. And if you’ve seen the reboot of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, then you know it’s all about compassion and bridging cultural and societal divides.
I am so happy that television networks are recognizing what we have been saying for a while. I don’t want to come home from work and relax by watching people being nasty. I don’t want to see strangers arguing in the comment section on social media or in a news article. We no longer see snark as intellect.
It’s the reason why when I started doing mornings at 99.9 The Q. Ralphie and I decided to give the show a clear direction: Feel Good Mornings would be unapologetically positive. We would celebrate our community and we wouldn’t delight in the demise of celebrities. Instead we give you a Feel Good News Story at 7:20 every morning. It’s always about people helping people. It’s a reminder that community and compassion exist and should be celebrated. We reward a Teacher of the Month because, if you ask me, they give above and beyond every single day to our most precious resource.
Kindness is making a comeback, but we believe it’s always been there. It’s just been overlooked. We are lucky to live in a community where people regularly pull together, look out for one another, and show up in support when tragedy hits. It’s so great to see the spotlight being put back on the things that really matter. We like to say Kind People are our Kinda People.
About Rebecca Romo
