A Glass Full of Water

  Losing your car keys is so frustrating and annoying. Most times, we find them and all is well with the world again. Losing your car keys on holiday can magnify the stress. Losing your keys on a beach far away from home is next level stress and the chance of finding them is very small.  Recently, while walking with family on Matapouri beach 40 minutes north east of Whangarei, we noticed a man walking towards us furtively looking in the sand. Quick looks between each other meant that for the next half hour or so we helped look for the impossible find. Other walkers on the beach joined us. I estimate that up to thirty people were now helping. Wonderful to see and be a part of. I’m not sure if the keys were ever found and that isn’t the point of this story. People unknown to each other cared enough to work together to help a stranger. POINTS to PONDER We have all been in the position of being in a frustrating, worrying time. A bit of shared humanity in such times is impor...

They say we remember our teachers, not for what they taught us, but for the way they made us feel. In my experience as a student and a teacher that is an insightful statement. Mr Black, my sixth form Art History teacher at Auckland Grammar School (in the early 1970’s) was an exceptional teacher. Seemingly very old, he made his subject relevant, engaging and interesting, because  he taught with passion and skill. On one particular occasion he was a teacher who did the right thing by me. Looking through my school bag at home after an art exam I suddenly realised that I had inadvertently put two completed pages of my exam in my bag along with unused spare paper. Oh no! All my exam results were important to my chances of University Entrance being accredited. My heart sank. Who was going to believe me? This was a school that ‘stuck by the rules’. Consequently, I didn’t get much sleep that night. The next day Mr Black was waiting for me outside his classroom door. He asked me where the...

Many years ago my twin brother Chris and I were travelling through Orewa, north of Auckland to our home in Warkworth. We were hungry, so stopped at a fast food place. Standing at the counter after ordering, I couldn’t help but notice a large handwritten sign on the back of an office door. The wording on the sign concerned me. It read, ‘Some staff are lazy. Do your job properly or I will fire you.’ My immediate thought was, that’s no way to treat people. A   sign like that showed the culture in the place was wrong. The sign message was disrespectful and rude. My anger grew. I asked a member of the wait staff if I could see the manager… I assertively told the manager to take the sign down and to treat all workers with dignity and if he had an issue with a staff member then deal with it in private in a fair way. He looked at me blankly. I repeated my message in a more forceful tone. Seemingly ignoring me again, he turned away without saying a word, walked over to the offensive sign a...

On a break day from our education aid work in Accra, the capital city of Ghana, the RATA team of teachers, staff and a number of children piled into a van to drive to the Elmina Castle on the Ghanaian Coast. It was built in 1482 by the Portuguese and by the 18th century, 30,000 slaves passed through the Door Of No Return each year on their way to North and South America. After a long drive, our first view was of crows flying in circles around the high castle walls. The  crows reminded me of vultures looking for their prey. Inside the main building we walked into a cell. It smelt damp and reeked of despair. We held rusty chains and knew that once, long ago they were around the bloody ankles of slaves about to leave Africa. We went upstairs and looked through a trapdoor to the floor below. Here the commandant would look down from his room and choose the next slave to have for his pleasure as they filed past. Awful beyond words. We then came to the Door of No return. This door led t...

Cleaning public toilets has to be a hard job at the best of times…  While out walking in Raglan I often thank the people that clean these toilets. Calling out “Thanks!” with a smile and a wave is always returned with a smile and wave back. What about thanking the cleaning staff working around you at the end of your work day? Most cleaning staff are genuinely surprised that someone notices the work they are doing. On some hot days Val will hand out cold cans of fizzy drink to the local rubbish truck workers. Shouts of thanks reverberate around our street.  POINTS to PONDER Take a moment to thank people for their work. Don’t treat them as invisible minions. Any job done well is worthy of praise. If you ever stay in a hotel or motel, take a moment to commend the staff for their work. They are not ‘servants’ and they often work unsociable hours and have multiple jobs. My experience has been that they are genuinely delighted that the worth of their work is recognised and valued...

Sometimes being kind doesn’t seem to work and when this happens it can be confusing and hurtful. I recall such a time… Driving on a main arterial route in Hamilton I noticed ahead of me a man pushing his car. I pulled my car over to the side of the road and ran over to help. Placing my hands on the boot I pushed too. The car was on a slight uphill incline, so my help was surely going to make a difference.  You know that sense you have when something isn’t quite right with the world. Well, unexpectedly he curtly said “Get your hands off my car!” Startled, I  replied. “Excuse me?” Making sure I heard correctly he said in a more forceful voice. “I told you once. I don’t want your help. Go away!”  I backed away, bewildered. I couldn’t understand why he wanted to push his car by himself. I just wanted to do the right thing. To help him. POINTS to PONDER Sometimes our desire to help isn’t wanted or appreciated. Get over yourself if this happens.  We do not know what...

  A GLASS FULL OF WATER is a blog ABOUT US, whoever we are and wherever we may be in the world. It is about KINDNESS. It is full of personal observations, experiences and insights about caring for people in our daily lives. Opportunities to be kind, thoughtful, compassionate and empathetic are all around us. I guess it’s about doing little things with a lot of love. Kindness can be about being friendly, generous, considerate and putting other people before ourselves. Sometimes to be kind means to be courageous and sometimes it’s showing strength in the face of pain and grief. My blog is not sensational nor should it be. Showy kindness is never mentioned. I have included no on-going images to match the stories. All stories are real and carry their own truths. I have been a part of many of the stories and so have my family, friends and neighbours. Much of my sharing is about the importance of relationship and connection. Hopefully each story is quietly inspiring and for some stories...