When have I noticed kindness being contagious?

In many ways the pandemic brought out the best in people, they became kinder. My residential road, which was already a friendly place to live with people looking out for each other, started a whatsapp group so that we could connect instantly if we required help. I actually had covid just at the start of our lockdown which due to the quarantine rules, meant no one in my household could leave the house to get provisions, so neighbours brought us shopping which was lovely, the group still exists and people are even more friendly and caring than they were before! In my town a Facebook support group sprang up and an army of volunteers were shopping for the elderly and vulnerable unable to leave their homes, leafleting homes with a contact number for help, to reach those not on the internet. The activation of this help was almost instant compared to the weeks and weeks it took our local council to start offering support. The kindness felt as contagious as the pandemic. But sadly not all were infected with kindness, I also witnessed some appalling behaviour by a tiny minority, but I tried to be kind in my thoughts, and attributing their behaviour to fear, stress or hardship. I was incredibly lucky during our lockdowns, we still had money coming in because my husband continued running his engineering workshop – he was making parts for ventilators. We have a comfortable home and a small garden to sit in. Others had lost their jobs, had little to no money, were trapped in small flats with fractious children and little food, some perhaps trapped at home with an abuser. I was very aware that my lockdown was very different to many others. Generally though, I do think people became kinder during the pandemic, Covid generated a pandemic of kindness.