Kindness; Heart of Community Rideshare

by convenor on 29/02/2016

Sunday Style Magazine (28FEB16) says that ‘conscious kindness’ will be be one of the biggest social trends of 2016.

Taylor Swift is famous for it. A recent example was when she took her entire 125-strong tour crew on holiday to thank them for their hard work.

Taylor Swift on holiday with her tour crew

She is also renowned for making a habit of turning up unannounced at fans’ homes with presents, and she even recently pulled her car over to say hello to a fan wearing her T-shirt.

Kindness isn’t a new concept, obviously. ‘Our grandparents’ generation lived through world wars and rationing. But the pendulum is swinging away from ‘Greed is Good’: young people are increasingly inspired by generosity and deeds for the greater good, like Mark Zuckerberg’s recent pledge to donate 99 per cent of his Facebook shares to charity.

And, it has been shown that kindness is actually good for us: a simple act of goodwill, like helping someone with directions, causes elevated levels of dopamine in the brain, creating a natural high.

In addition, there is scientific evidence that the vagus nerve – the longest nerve in the body – is stimulated by feelings of compassion and results in putting a ‘brake’ on inflammation in the body. That can only be a good thing. Right?

It is also said to help with anxiety and stress: a recent study by the University of British Columbia found that people with high levels of anxiety who performed kind deeds for others over six weeks were left feeling significantly more positive.

kindness dividend

If you are looking to go with this trend to ‘conscious kindness’, Community Rideshare is one way to engage, so long as you drive and can detour to pickup a passenger occasionally. But if money drives you … drive for Uber or GoCar.

 

 

Community Rideshare won’t make you rich but it will ENRICH your life.

If you live or work in The Sydney Hills, our Community Rideshare for #ShutinSeniors (HillsCarPal) will provide you with a “Kindness Dividend”.

We do all the work to suss out where,when & by whom a Ride is needed. All you have to do is add the KINDNESS!

 

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John

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