Kindness
the quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate.
Kate Tempest, for me, summed up how we can fix the world in six words.
More empathy
Less greed
More respect
From her ‘People’s Faces’ track, these six words are part of a raw speech delivered by Kate adjacent to a peaceful group of piano chords. Sounding almost school like, it ends as though a crowd of parents are about to stand and applaud a blushing teenager as she nods her head as a modest thanks. In a tired school hall, with a tired school uniform, claps echo as a young person with more understanding of the world than the whole audience wanders off the stage. Turning her back on the people who made the rule book, who set the bar. She surpassed.
It’s coming to pass
My countries coming apart
The whole thing’s becoming
Such a bumbling farce
Was that a pivotal historical moment
We just went stumbling past?
Here we are
Dancing in the rumbling dark
So come a little closer
Give me something to grasp
Give me your beautiful, crumbling heart
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We speak about kindness a lot in this world, especially in times where social media abuse and bullying is quickly pulled out of a noisy space like an off strawberry in a punnet of glowing reds. Eventually disregarded after inspecting it further to find it is indeed bad.
Like the tumble dryer that dries the tired school uniform, ageing her armour with every spin, the world goes round and round. Tweet after tweet, post after post, like after like. But it is learning, slowly, to be more delicate. We’re learning, slowly, to be more kind.
They say everyday is a school day, usually referred to when learning things like ‘raisins are dried up grapes’ or ’the Queen doesn’t have a passport’, but feelings aren’t trivia.
Like a competitive family, we got lost playing the Game of Life. Who can blame us? As with any journey where you find yourself somewhere you didn’t think you’d be, you’re surprised. You get to see your next destination from a different angle. It might be further away, but it is still there waiting for you.
When people step forward to do something kind, usually without much thought or pondering, they spark curiosity. It isn’t often that people rise alone, they either enthusiastically pull others up with them or they encourage others to get up there and see the view for themselves. What are you doing over there? Is it nice? Can I come too?
That’s the thing with kindness, it doesn’t require an invite or an RSVP. It doesn’t come in shapes and sizes. It doesn’t sell out. It isn’t discounted. It doesn’t follow trends. It doesn’t have a use by date. But it can be returned.
In the last couple of weeks I have seen more people being more friendly, more generous and more considerate than I have in my entire life. We’ve clapped. We’ve cried. We’ve shared. We’ve scarified. We’ve learnt.
I think the young girl on that stage would be proud. We re-wrote the rule book and we raised the bloody bar.
