Hi. I am a senior at Evanston Township High School. I am working on an independent project: to perform acts of kindness in Evanston and take pictures of them to post on Flickr. I hope to spread kindness around my community and make people aware of acts of kindness. I would love to hear from you. Feel free to add anything relevant to acts of kindness and my project. Leave a post, add a comment to my posts, come back as many times as you like, and look at the websites and books I have added : )
Monday, March 23, 2009
Holding Doors
This week I have made an effort to hold doors open for other people, whether they are holding a lot of things or not. I liked this act of kindness because it is a little thing but really shows you realize and recognize that they are there...versus pulling it open and letting it close on them or slam in their face. I definitely love it when other people hold doors open for me and make the effort because it shows they are acknowledging you. And when other people let the door slam in my face I hate it. This little act allows you to make contact with another person and show that, in a way, they exist (by saying "hi" and smiling as well). For the person holding the door I think it gives them a positive happy feeling and I know that when other people hold the door for me I thank them and end up smiling as well. It is just a small, easy, fast way to make contact with a person and show you care about them.
Dear Meaghan,
ReplyDeleteI liked your piece about holding doors open for people. Another variation on this is making eye contact with people such as the cashiers, food service workers, and others who are in service positions. It makes such a difference to say hello and ask how they are instead of treating them as a machine while they take care of your transaction.
By the way, your work is a breath of fresh air!
I love this post. Walking to class, you notice people are a little upset and in a hurry, but holding a door only takes a few seconds. It is definitely the easiest thing you can do but it really means the most to someone behind you.
ReplyDeleteAnd in response to the previous post, I definitely agree, we see so many people daily, but how many people do you actually make eye contact with? it never hurts to just genuinely ask, "hey how has your day been?" You will learn a lot more about life if you just listen, no matter who the speaker is.