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Life in General – Random Acts of Kindness Explored

It’s a beautiful day in the sunshine, sitting in Vancouver bathing my toes in freshly mowed grass and a light afternoon breeze, a perfect setting to hash out a quick bog. I have tried so many times to write even a short blog post but have not been able to get past a just a few lines as workshops and trainings have taken all of my attention and time.

We have just finished Immersion II in Vancouver and have decidedly taken a week off to just take classes and be students ourselves – it’s great to have the chance to be our student’s students – that is of course if they don’t collapse of anxiety before the class even starts ( it’s been known to happen:)

It’s interesting… As I look back over the past couple of months there has been a common thread of experiences in places that you would least expect them to occur… That experience? People being extraordinarily nice!

As you know (if you know me well), I am not one to stereo type, unless of course the stereo type is true or if it helps me make a valid point… That being said, you will agree that the following random acts of kindness, given their location, would seem out of sync with the inherent rhythm of the universe – as we perceive it be, of course.

Random act #1. A stranger held the door open for me as we exited a Paris metro station. I shared my surprise with a Parisian friend who assured me that it wouldn’t last and said that the the nice weather was to blame:)))

Random act #2. Having two packages of amazing buratta cheese and a bottle of wine added to our take away bag at an Italian restaurant in Paris (in their defense, we do go there a lot)

Random act #3: Having an entire row of seats blocked out for Ozlem and I on our flight from Europe to NY (those of you that fly loads will appreciate having two personal screens to yourself to be able watch the same movie on two screens, two seconds apart – it’s what we call in the business, “Lo-Fi 3D”)

Random act #4: After a failed attempt by the concierge at our NY hotel to get us a table at the wildly popular “Peasant,” Ozlem and I walked over anyway to have a look and as we walked in the manager greeted us with a smile and asked the expected, “do you have a reservation.” After I answered “no,” he said… “Let me see if I can make room for you…hmm..yes..hmm..table ….hmm.. Ok.. Come right this way, table for two… Enjoy Peasant!” And that, we did!!!!

Random act #5: Also at a NY restaurant. Ozlem and I popped in to Delicatessen, which was just around the corner from our hotel. It was a busy and beautiful afternoon. We were greeted by the manager who quickly found us a table… We chatted for awhile, he came back every few minutes to talk “yoga” and as we left, we were informed by the staff that the drinks were taken care of, nice! We went back several more times and met the owner, whose family had occupied that space since 1935 or something like that, in fact, his mother, in her 90’s, still lives upstairs! Awesome people!!!

Every once in awhile, it’s experiences like these that remind me of the common goodness that is inherent in the world and that people everywhere just love to connect and be connected with. We had a blast in NY and Paris.

There are many more great experiences and random acts of kindness that I would LOVE to share, however, Ozlem is hungry and she wants her breakfast now!!!!

2 Comments

  1. barnard says:

    hey, i’m south african. just want to let you know that this friendlyness is something commin in SA. although SA is one of the most violent countries in the world, we are also one of the friendliest! at first i couldn’t appreciate your amazement with these acts of curtsey. but thinking about my experiences abroad, i do understand. It made me very proud to live in a country like SA! you might get killed here, but at least it will be done with a smile! :))

  2. yogafoodtravel says:

    Hi Barnard,
    Thanks for you comment! We haven’t made it to SA yet, but we do have many kind friends from there. It is interesting when kindness starts surprising us, and lack of it becomes the norm. We always manage to find nice people through yoga though. =) Overall our experiences have been absolutely amazing, and hopefully we’ll make it to SA one day too!

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