Positivity and kindness. Two simple words that can make a big difference to ones life.

Positivity is so important to building a happy life, and kindness is an example of positivity.

For many years I was a very negative and unhappy person. I was angry at the world because of my unhappy childhood. I think I had a right to be angry AND being angry year after year didn’t really get me anywhere in life. Year after year I was consumed by anger and feeling angry certainly didn’t take away my pain and unhappiness. During my recovery journey I was able to validate my reasons for feeling angry AND then I finally let the anger go.

Some years ago (before DBT) a Dr asked me to write down three things I had to be grateful for every day. I felt patronised when she asked me to do this – I felt like she wasn’t validating what I had been through, and I didn’t think I had anything to be grateful for.

During my DBT journey I realised that I do in fact have a lot to be grateful and I started noting something | was grateful for every day. One day I wrote “I’m grateful that I didn’t live during the 1950s, as I probably would have been given a lobotomy”, whilst I was half joking, there was some truth in it.

One way we can be positive is to show small acts of kindness to others. There is a lot of good in the world AND sometimes with the hustle and bustle of life we can forget this.

Occasionally, a stranger appears just at the right moment and reminds us what kindness looks like. A few weeks ago, I had one of these moments – an experience that showed me how powerful a simple act of care can be. I want to share this story, not for attention or sympathy, but to remind you that kindness brings hope, and as I like to say, Hope – is a truly wonderful thing.

Thank you for reading.

Love, Luna.