Do you need some toilet paper? Well, that may have seemed like a very strange question to ask someone a month ago. However, we just asked a neighbor the same question. It’s now a question you may hear because it seems there’s a demand for several products and supply is not keeping up. Recently, at a grocery store, we heard gasps as people turned the corner of an aisle and were met with bare shelves and not a single roll of toilet paper!

There were also bare shelves without bleach and hand sanitizer. Even soups were almost sold out. We tried buying rubbing alcohol online and found that the same one we previously purchased for a couple of bucks was now in a three pack for $67. People are stocking up as they distance themselves from others.

However, we also noticed people are pulling together by helping each other. A woman showed kindness by telling us where she found some sanitizing wipes in a store nearby. Hopefully, this buying frenzy will subside.

People are being cautious about not spreading the virus and we’re glad to see kindness spreading. What other ways can we pull together and spread kindness during these challenging times? We’ll share some ways we thought of and hope you’ll also let us know of some more ways.

Have a kindness mindset: Kindness has been shown to have many health benefits. Jamil Zaki, Psychology Professor at Stanford, suggests that kindness spreads like a virus – but in a good way. When people are kind or even observe kindness, it positively affects mood, lowers blood pressure and makes them happier. Also, performing even a small act of kindness has the potential to positively affect someone else’s life. Aesop, the ancient Greek storyteller said, “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.”

When meetings, schools and sporting events are cancelled, it’s easy to feel controlled by the situation and deprived of our normal, comfortable life. We need to adjust our mindset to be kind to ourselves, others and accept the situation. Many people are feeling stressed so let’s try to pull together and show patience and kindness whenever possible.

Be kind to others: There are probably people that you know who may be feeling lonely or discouraged. How can you reach out to them? Certainly a phone call, email or even a card would be appreciated. Maybe you could pick up something they need if they can’t get to the store or pharmacy. If you don’t know anyone who has needs, there are agencies that advertise on radio and TV sharing how you could help. Contributions to food shelves will be particularly appreciated at this time.

Since we have been told to “distance” ourselves from others, it might seem more difficult to show appreciation, but we can still share a warm smile or kind words. Also, you could write letters or short notes to friends and relatives. Remember when people sent snail mail? It always feels good to receive it. Showing kindness to others can help reduce their stress and your stress, too.

Be kind to yourself: We realize that taking good care of ourselves mentally and physically helps boost the immune system. Of course, healthy eating, sleeping well and thinking positively helps. What if we tried to see the positives of being more “home-bound”? We decided to try something new by learning to make bread. We called a relative who makes sourdough bread to find out how to start a culture. He shared that the culture needed to be “fed” regularly, just like a person or a pet. We then asked him if he named it and he replied, ‘Jane – of course, that’s Jane Dough!’ That brought a laugh for us!

When we opened an old cookbook given to us by mom, we found a recipe we had used many years ago to make an easy ‘quick’ bread. Now we’ll try making a traditional bread. It sounds fun and we never would have taken time to do it if we weren’t spending more time at home.

What about you?

Some thoughts: Even though there’s distancing to stop the spread of the virus, this can be a time to spread kindness in many ways. Now might also be when you can get in touch with your values, what really matters to you and how you want to live your life. And maybe try learning something new. As we are kind to ourselves and others, we’ll be able to pull together and overcome the current challenges.

Chanhassen MN residents, Doug and Lynn Nodland are success coaches and owners of The Balance Center in Excelsior. Contact them at WeCare@TheBalanceCenter.com

© Doug and Lynn Nodland 2020 Articles and videos may be shared in their entirety with attribution.