World Kindness Day: Part 2

Evening chums! Friday the 13th November 2015, was world kindness day! In Mondays post, of which you can read here, I talked about the special day and ways you can spread your kindness in many different ways! 

Yesterday I did my part, and wrote around 25 notes of kindness. Hey, that might not sound like a lot, but I spent an hour writing and I was just too eager to dish them out to the locals. I walked around the estate for an hour, in the freezing cold, my fingers numb and yellow, posting each individual note into people's letter boxes. I thought my fingers where going to fall off but hey, to make just one person smile is so worth it. It was later that night when the terrorist attacks in Paris happened. Everything felt so so wrong. It was supposed to be a day of kindness around the world, however innocent people were being killed and I witnessed the death toll as it grew. My boyfriend text me constant updates of what was happening, to keep me in the loop, and with every message I received my heart ached and ached. If I hurt so much, imagine how the families of those who had people they knew in Paris, those who lost people, and even those who live in the city who now live in fear!

However, kindness did follow. I think everyone's heard and seen about the different monuments around the world being lit up in the colors of the French flag. Taxi drivers in Paris turned off their meters and too everyone home or to safety to free. Some people even opened their doors, letting those who needed it to sleep in their own home and seek safety! The hashtag #PayForParis started trending all over twitter, and I don't think I've ever seen so many people come together and unite, and it felt so good to see how many people cared. Kindness still lingered through the darkness, not all hope was lost. 

The next morning I woke up to be treated with a beautiful box sent by Cotton Traders UK, full of cosy goodies. It all was sent free for the sake of promoting world kindness, and I felt so blessed to receive such beautiful items, and it was so selfless and caring of them! In the box I received many goodies such as a hot chocolate spoon, a hot water bottle, and my personal favorite: fluffy socks.

Now, Cotton Traders UK told me I could do whatever I wanted with the box as long as it involved kindness and giving to others. As much as I would love to send packages to all those affected by the recent tragedies, that's unfortunately not possible. However instead, I will pick packing it full with food, sanitary items, and warm clothing such as gloves and scarves, to my local charity for the homeless which they will then pass on to one of their clients so that they can have a better Christmas despite having to live in the streets.

I was also surprised to see these to images on Facebook and Instagram:

I made two people happy. And that made me happy too,like,  really really happy. The post on Facebook, since I last checked, reached over 100 likes, which may not seem like a huge number, but to me it means so much. The person who posted the note onto Facebook may never know who I am, and I don't know who they are either since the posted anonymously, but I feel like on some weird level we both made each others day that bit more better. 23 over people will have received these notes too, and I hope that I've managed to make each and every one of them smile.

Despite all the hard times the world is facing now, especially in Paris, Japan, Lebanon, Mexico, and Baghdad, I've witnessed unity, and togetherness. People in my town have lit candle lights as a memorial to those died, another person is raising money to send flowers of condolences to Paris (you can donate here), and almost everyone on my Facebook paged has a french flag overlay on their profile picture. I'm witnessing kindness and solidarity everywhere I look.

I now sit here in the safety of my home, with the socks I was gifted comforting my feet, reflecting on how lucky I am. The world is a scary place right now, but we can take steps to make it a better. Kindness is needed more than ever, and I push each and every one of you to do something everyday, no matter how big or small, to give someone a reason to smile.

 You can read Cotton Traders UK's post about world kindness here

Have a lovely day

Lauren x

#PrayForTheWorld

*This post in collaboration with Cotton Traders UK, who sent me the box of kindness for free, to promote world kindness. All opinions are completely honest and my own