Category: Goodness

There is plenty to be cynical in the UK about these days, but during a recent trip (and farewell tour through my old neighbourhood) I found an unexpected nugget of delight that fills me with hope for the future of government engagement in the UK.

Broken Toys and a Note

I used to live in Tamworth, Staffordshire – famous for pigs and the Robert Peel (founder of the modern British police force ‘The Bobbies’).  It is also famous for a castle that marks the seat of the Mercian kings.  Today there is a play area in the Castle grounds that delights modern little princes and princesses alike.

As I wondered through the Castle ground play area with my sons on Friday 04/Jan/2013 – I noticed an area of cordoned off fencing around some play equipment that had been removed.  I knew this equipment, it was in the under fives area and was one of those round-about installations where people get on, and someone pushes really fast and everyone feels queasy with possible projectile vomiting 😉

Now it was gone. In its place was this note, attached to the fencing.

This note delighted me so deeply I thought I might share it with you. It says to me that all is not lost within the heart of the State.

I really think that this approach/idea is brilliant and its originator ( Peter Watkins – the person listed on the email  or whoever ) should be commended.  It seems like a genuine interest in trying to engage with their actual users – being humorous,  speaking directly to the children who will use the equipment and offering them simple and descriptive choices of what they prefer.  It demonstrates putting children first and being prepared to listen. Something, sadly, we are seeing less and less of with the UK government.

The area is under the administration of Tamworth Borough Council and I sincerely hope that this is only one example of delightful engagement and interaction with the population of Tamworth.  I would love to hear of more.

Help Me Amplify Goodness

Hey, if you think this is a step in the right direction, please would you consider to do me a favour – tweet about this or perhaps say ‘Hello’ to Peter Watkins at the address above and let him know that you think this is a great idea.  I believe that those of us who work for a world with less distance between people must encourage the behaviour we want to see in this world and not let goodness go unacknowledged.  It doesn’t matter whether you are in the UK or not nor that you think they are just doing their job (in fact I think it matters most!)

What do you think?  Have you seen simple acts of delight that you would like to share – I would love to hear them.

the sunbeam dances on the wall

as i stir from my slumber

lighting my return from night to day.

the twilight journey was as a

voyage upon hostile waters

tossed about on an ocean of restless nightmares.

as i reached her shore

the calm, quiet like a walk in a grassy meadow

full of birdsong, sunshine and flower scent,

embraces my weary vessel into its

blessed harbour.

it is morning and all is well,

her smile reassures my beaten soul,

her arms cradling my tired form.

I have just read a photo journal of a retired Israeli physician working in the Israeli occupied territories of the West Bank. (Photo Journal ). The idea of this, seeing it in pictures and reading a little about what this person is contributing to a alleviate human suffering moved me to tears. It wasn’t the cliché of enemies extending care to each other, or the selflessness of this individual nor indeed his upholding of the professional oath that moved me. What moved me was the realization that within every one of us there exists an stream of humanity that flows into the collective conscience. I concede that in many people it may as well be dry, but there is always a trickle however tiny of the stuff that makes us care for some other living creature – that makes us sensitive to the pain of others (perhaps not all others, but certainly some other than ourselves). This was a realisation of something fundamental yet forgotten.

In the midst of the struggle against the ills of the world – disease, poverty, conflict, injustice, natural disasters and environment destruction (its a daunting list!), one forgets the people who make little dents in this seemingly insurmountable task. It is the very stream of humanity that is alive and free flowing within them that enables them to face the pain and suffering of others every day.

Teachers, nurses and others who sacrifice personal material gain for the good of others do so out of humanity – they make no fanfare of this, nor do they seek riches. It is seldom financially rewarding work, but the rewards of humanity are the smiles and thanks of those who’s lives are touched , enhanced, saved and the knowledge of making a difference.

Activists, conscientious objectors, prisoners of conscience, peace observers and others who face persecution and peril to ensure that they bear witness (if nothing else) to inhumanity and injustice. All of these people have something many of us do not yet possess – the conviction that we can make a difference, that the humanity we feel can extend beyond the donation to charity at Christmas or the sighs and passing sentimentality of moving paid advertising for good causes.

So take a moment to question your own humanity, your ability to imagine walking in another’s shoes, to feel another’s pain. Try to see the world through the eyes of the homeless guy on the corner, the abused child, the starving and the dispossessed. Put yourself in their place rather than simply thank God for not being in their situation (which you can’t really appreciate unless you have been in their situation).

Its a frightening exercise that either hardens your conscience and further droughts the trickle of your humanity or (hopefully) dislodges the dam of indifference and apathy, opening the floodgates of your conscience and care.