Do the next right thing

DO THE NEXT RIGHT THING…… 

So in a week when the Queen has reminded us that “history has been forged by people and  communities coming together to work as one” ……. 

And the chancellor of the exchequer has reminded us “now more than at any time in our history, we will be judged by our capacity for compassion.  When this is over, and it will be over, we want to look back on this moment and remember the small acts of kindness, done by us and to us” …….

I am reflecting on what it means to “DO THE NEXT RIGHT THING”. 

Anyone who has had any contact with the Storm community since January will know this is our current theme. I had been gathering thoughts together for our Mothering Day Special this Sunday.   This of course is now sadly not not going to be happening…… so I would like  to share some of my thoughts.  

We were going to be looking afresh at the story Jesus told of the Good Samaritan and what it means to be a good neighbour.  

I was going to recall the story of Donald……. Donald was an elderly, infirm and irascible old fella I once gave a lift home to when I found him shuffling at a snail’s pace down Broadwater Road…… He was very infirm and pretty angry and once I had got him into the car I honestly wondered if I would be able physically to get him out again!! We did manage it but were then shocked to see the conditions he was living in and so began months of the wonderful Storm team helping to clean his house and tidy his garden and eventually see him established in a care home……. 

I would like to say that he was grateful and appreciative but that would be a lie………… DOING THE NEXT RIGHT THING can be truly challenging and at times it is tempting to give up!

It makes me think that being KIND is a lot more complicated than we often think………

I read an amazing and thought provoking article in The Guardian a couple of weeks ago by Eva Wiseman https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2020/mar/08/its-true-we-should-be-kinder-but-its-much-harder-than-that It was written in the aftermath of the tragic death of Caroline Flack…… She writes “‘Be kind’ is a phrase acceptable only for children and hashtags.  Because the longer version, the chewier more complicated version that lies beneath, the one that acknowledges and attempts to change the structures of our societies, both on and offline, so that we are all understanding of and enriched by other peoples’ wellbeing, requires thought, compromise, hard work and, occasionally just shutting up.  And that sentence by itself would struggle to fit on a T-shirt, let alone a cupcake”. 

Another amazing article (definitely worth a read https://www.premierchristianity.com/Past-Issues/2020/March-2020/The-sin-of-sentimentality) examines our responses to media reporting and challenges us to reconsider our reactions. 

Well having said all of that I think my Granddaughter Arna should have the last word on the subject…… 

after all “kindness is our superpower” …….

Lets not shout about it or necessarily post it on facebook but let’s just quietly and steadily over the coming days and months DO THE NEXT RIGHT THING…… and be in it for the long haul!