My first experience with RAK
February 14 - 20, 2016 is designated Random Acts of Kindness week. No, it's not another Hallmark creation to move RAK greeting cards, nor has Laura Secord launched a new line of choccies just in time for RAK. It's a creation brought to my attention by my cousin-in-law, Steffi Black.
Kate, Gabriel, Samuel, and I have been the recipients of many acts of kindness, some random, some planned, some probably wholly unintended and undiscovered to the giver. Most of us who have paddled the rapids of a cancer diagnosis will have had a similar experience. Of course, without awareness, we may have had them slip right on by without even noticing. This is my small way to encourage anyone who reads this to pause for a moment to consider how they have been treated kindly and how they might reciprocate.
For example, shortly after Kate's diagnosis four years ago, when I was searching for answers and resources I came upon the site, www.facingcancer.ca. Through this discovery, I uncovered a motherload of kindness, compassion and genuine understanding. I was introduced to one of the site's bloggers, Dr. Alexandra Ginty, affectionately given the moniker Vitamin G. She was to become a force for good in our lives. She became a trusted confidante, a source of limitless inspiration, a guide through the dark valleys, and a pathfinder to the peaks of hope and light.
She is now Kate's GP and doctor to our boys. Alex is the person you WANT in your corner. A cancer survivor herself, she has shared her story with spirit and openness via her blog (http://www.facingcancer.ca/blogs/bothsides/), a book, her inspiration cards, and through her day-to-day interactions with patients as people! Now she's undergoing more trials as she valiantly fights to stave off a mysterious attack on her body. If you follow her (and I suggest you do), you will gain insight into one remarkable woman's ability to maintain momentum and positivity in the face of challenges that would throw most of us to the ground whimpering for relief. So here's my first random act of kindness: visit her blog, learn about her, and in so doing, keep her in your thoughts and send whatever support and healing vibrations you can summon up in her direction.
Alex is one of the good people, folks. She's a treasure. She deserves all of our collective kindness. Do this for her and I promise you will find personal benefit arising in the most unexpected ways. When Katie and the boys were writing a card for her this overcast morning, a rainbow appeared on the surface of the paper. We took this a sign of great karma and evidence of the power of collective thoughts focusing on the well-being of one individual. Thank you Alex just for being you.