Acts of Kindness Improve Well-Being

By Kyra Hazilla

Welcome to Day 2 of Well-Being Week! I am so glad you have stopped by the blog today for our post on acts of kindness. There is some lovely research (see Dartmouth for a fact sheet) on how participating in acts of kindness improves our physical and mental health. Even the mere act of observing someone else sharing a moment of kindness improves our own well-being.

During this time of physical distancing when the world seems to be full of fear, media outlets are specifically sharing kind acts in our communities. It is both possible and wise to seek out these sources to remind us of the best in ourselves and in each other.

The wonderful thing about these acts of compassion and care for others is that we can create them for ourselves. These acts can be “quiet kindnesses”, like leaving a roll of toilet paper in a neighborhood lending library, or public altruism where both the sharer and the recipient of the kindness get to appreciate each other.

We would love it if you would share your moments of kindness (either those you have witnessed or your own) with our legal community by emailing us, and we will share on the blog this Friday. I’ll start: my children and I wrote hopeful, grateful, and encouraging messages on our sidewalk in chalk, and then we got to watch neighbors and workers pass by and enjoy (and photograph) them! If you need inspiration, check out Neighbor Day in Seattle!

I am looking forward to reading your contributions on Friday!

Some science if you want to read more.

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