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Crossing the road at a busy spot in Melbourne, I don't expect much leeway from cars in traffic. In fact I don't want people to stop to let me go if it could risk a change in speed and traffic conditions as that could cause an accident.

I'm crossing at Kew Junction back a bit from the lights as it can get a bit quieter there. Kew Junction can be pretty manic as it's one of those 5 street intersections vs the standard 4, though this one of the 5 in particular is the most consistent in it's quiet spots. It's all clear on the near side of road to the median strip that is nice and wide and safe to stand while finding a gap to cross the other side so I head across.

As I do, cars are lining up on the other side of the street, stopped at the red light, from the lights back to where I'm standing waiting to walk between them. I take zero risk in this situation as a standard and wait until the line of cars I'm going to walk between, completely stops. As the car comes to a halt just to my right another approaches that would form the other car I walk between to cross the other side.

And as it does, the driver does something special.

It slows as it approaches, and very early in the piece, not just to allow a standard gap you might to a car in front but it's communicating something to me. Clearly the driver has seen me, seen that I'm wanting to cross and whilst they didn't have to, they are really making a point of leaving a large gap, slowing to a stop well back from the car in front to say 'it's ok, here's some space you are safe to cross.'

I got such a kick out of it.

There were no other cars approaching in the other lanes so I proceeded to cross. I waved and smiled profusely. Then I thought, how cool is this, I can't even see them inside due to the sun and reflection, I'll likely never meet them in real life, but here we are interacting, their kindness greatly received, making my day.

I was meant to get the write up back to him this past Saturday.
It was for him to post to promote my preso for an event for our business group happening Friday morning - yeah today.
I got it to him finally on Wednesday just after 5.
He has his own commitments during the week, family, work, zucchini juggling...
Not an ounce of hassle came my way, or angst at timing.
In fact it was all just grace and support and are you ok and can I help.
And it wasn't throw away. I know if I had have said, can we get together for a chat, he would have moved heaven, earth, and zucchini's to make it happen.
Thanks mate!

A dear friend who knows how hard I'm trying, how hard I'm working, how exhausted I am...

Just called at the start of the day, to say a prayer for me, for us.

I didn't get to the call so he left a message where he simply said the prayer as the message.

It might be the most beautiful voice message I've ever received.

And mostly because he is just as pushed and drained in life right now, yet he thought of me.

Thank you Ben. 🙏🌻🧡

Billie gave me a cool gift

Billie gave me a super cool gift for Christmas

Today I had a coffee catch up scheduled with a long time friend. Not one of those friends I've spent a heap of time with but definitely one of those you don't need heaps of time with to feel like a friend, and to feel like you matter . She has a smile that brings the sun into the room.

I said 'scheduled' because I failed to manage my time well enough to make it AND I called her after it started to tell her my struggle rather than beforehand.

What did she do? After I felt the sunshine through the phone, she said 'no problem at all, make sure you get downtown though because I've bought you a coffee.

Thank you Claire, for helping me feel like I matter, not just in my best moments.

My next door neighbour Danny . Who has down syndrome by the way,
Put my bins out yesterday with out me asking him to. I just wanted to acknowledge him being a great guy.

A special time with a wonderful and kind man. Have had some rock bottom moments recently. The 'ask everything of me' kind. In 30 minutes today, he spoke truth, affirmation, and strength into my heart.

I'm here to say, it was so good to be with you mate.

It’s brothers like you that I’m finding now at this stage of life who may well be the most important to me getting through the battle and doing the work I’m on the planet to do.

I’m feeling full, inspired, and strong. Thank you Anthony.

I saw Daniel Burns doing a kindness by showing up for his Aunty Steph. He and his community did the next right thing when other plans had been made. Thank you, Dan, for showing up and showing kindness to everyone you meet.

My two dogs decided an open gate was an invitation to go for a stroll out onto our rural road. Thankfully a resident new to the area stopped, called my dogs and then rang me after seeing my number on Millie's collar. She waited with them while I walked down to find her and then waited while I called them back. I am so grateful a) she was driving along at the time and b) she stopped and called me.

"Hey sorry mate, I think I almost ran over you there, I didn't see you and I should have. I'm really sorry. "

A young man had wound down his window and was talking to me. I was walking through a car park in Canberra on a work trip. I had noticed his car but navigated it just fine. There was no issue.

I responded
"Thanks mate, ummm, it's all good, I'm not sure how close you got but I don't think anything was wrong. I walked around you and don't think you were dangerous at all, but thanks anyway. "

"Fair enough, but I really think it was a bit close and I should have stopped or something, I'm sorry."

"Ok, I appreciate your kindness and apology even if I didn't feel a need. Thanks very much for saying something. "

I reflected on it and it struck me how kind it was. He could have just driven on, it was a car park after all, no pedestrian crossing, it was my job to stay out of his way. But he stopped to apologise to me. I kinda felt he is the sort of young man trying to put goodness into the world, it was so intentional.

After our bin drawer was damaged by our toddler, I was needing to get a new drawer runner.
I took the broken runner into the kitchen place that built our kitchen 10 years ago.
They were able to fix it up on the spot and took care of me price wise as well. I was totally stoked with their service and needless to say I will be very happy to continue to support them in future.

Sometimes life has some difficult choices. When these parts of life come up, and you have a wonderful group of friends that practice what they preach every day, it is an absolute blessing. To be held, and loved and seen. Thank you so much. I hope I can be more like you.

I’ve been in the slow and steady season of launching my new counselling practice. It's meaningful work — deeply aligned with who I am — but like many new ventures, it can also feel quiet and uncertain at times. You show up, you share, you wonder if anyone’s noticing.

The other day, I got a lovely surprise.

Someone I know — but not closely — liked and interacted with several posts from my business page. Not only that, they shared one to their own Facebook profile with a few kind words. It stopped me in my tracks.

This is someone I see maybe once a week or fortnight, in a ceramics studio I attend. We chat as we shape clay, nothing too deep — just those soft, grounding conversations that happen between glazes and globs of slip. I never imagined they were taking note of what I was building outside that space.

But they were. Quietly. Kindly. Without needing applause.

It reminded me how often we are seen, even when it feels like we’re not. That simple gesture — a few clicks, a quiet endorsement — made me feel acknowledged, valued. Encouraged. It turned a regular day into one laced with gratitude.

There’s a quiet power in unexpected kindness. In someone showing up not with fanfare, but with presence. It doesn’t take much… but it means so much.

To that person — thank you. You reminded me that the seeds we plant are noticed, even before they bloom.

While I was in Australia, a friend drove up to be with me and gave me the gift of his presence.

Basketball and birthday cake can be kindness in action.

My son and his group of close-knit high school friends have been playing weekly social basketball for 5 years since they left school, and this week played a new team. He relayed how they had won the game, although the team were new to the competition and were a group of 15 & 16 year olds. "We eased off a bit in the last quarter as we didn't want their first game to be demoralising for them."

After the game, they were invited by the mum of one of the young boys to share in some birthday cake to celebrate his 16th birthday.

In a world where young men can get a bad rap, it was heartening to hear this story underpinned by kindness, thoughtfulness and connection.

Our whole family has COVID, and so I couldn't go and do the weekly shopping like I normally would.

My father-in-law who lives nearby offered to go and pick up some items we were needing from the supermarket and drop them at our door.

He did it quickly and offered to get anything else that we needed. It might seem small, but it was an abundance of kindness to us.

Parents exposing transgender children to a public Rally for Transgender Rights.

I saw several friends come around a friend to help her in a very diffult time

On this particular day, I head out in the car to run an errand and come to a halt at what can be a notoriously bad T-intersection into a main road. I've literally sat here waiting for 15 minutes before.

The spot where I'm waiting is two lanes wide so vehicles can fit side by side and do the 90 degree turn left or right at the same time. Of course going right at T is always the tougher gap to get when you drive on the left side of the road, as it means you are crossing the closest lane into the far lane so you need two gaps in traffic to complete the turn.

As I wait, I notice a garbage truck approach from behind me and that it veers to the left of me to pull alongside to my left to make that left turn at the T. In an instant I realise this is going to be another of the notorious things about this spot, and a reason you can wait 15 minutes. This truck, waiting next to me, will completely block my view to the left so it will be impossible to see if there's a gap on the other side of the road to make the turn.

So I'll be stuck here until the truck is gone.

And the notorious feeling of hrrrrmppphhh kind of arrives.

Then, as I watch to my left for this truck to sidle up beside me, it doesn't appear. It feels kinda weird because, well, it's a garbage truck so it's biggish and it's like it just disappeared as it went out of view from my rear view mirror, then should have appeared to my left, and didn't.

I look back into my blind spot and sure enough, no the truck didn't disapparate, there it was, stopped a little behind me to my left.

It actually took me a moment to realise what was going on.

Clearly this lovely truck driver, a man I'd estimate maybe in his 30's, realised he would be blocking my view making it impossible for me to make the turn until he was gone.

I think about it and the bigger, really kind, thing that really hits home is that whilst there was no way I impacted his view because he could see clearly either way being up high in his truck was that he looked beyond what only he could see. He chose to see what I could... or couldn't... if he had have pulled right up to the edge of the road next to me, to pull out.

It did enable me to pull out into traffic sooner as a gap appeared in both directions.

Time wise it really probably didn't make a huge difference as it was a fairly quiet time of day, but heart wise it made a huge difference that he'd seen me and my needs. It was maybe tiny, but it really wasn't.

I did my best to wave and give a thumbs up to say thanks as we both went our separate ways. Pretty sure I'll never be separated from this moment now though...

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