Quote by Karen Salmansonn

This week I wanted to share a story that warmed my heart and it came from one of my favourite places…my local library.

Often on a Saturday morning we visit our local library, a place that brings me immense joy. The library has so many lovely memories from my childhood but also was a wonderful bridge into adulthood when the world felt a little uncertain – the library remained calm and consistent. However, my library joy truly burst its seams when my child was born and I was able to indulge in all the wonderful adventures through my child’s eyes, it’s a sacred space.

Yesterday we took our bag of books back to be returned and juggled the machines with new finds and I was even blessed to find slips with my name on the side in the ‘reserved’ section on the library! For those that don’t know this wonder – this is a shelf much like Christmas where you can reserve a book that perhaps you can’t find on the shelf or the librarian will have it ready for you to collect. They pop a receipt in the top with your name on and send you an email to confirm when it’s ready to collect.

Within the juggle of my own books and my child’s, I had forgotten to extend the loan of one of the books I was half way through reading but left without realising, due to the excitement of all the new ‘book bounty’ we had received.

Last night, I was checking emails and doing life admin when an email from my librarian caught my eye…

Hello, I have found a postcard in a book which you were the last borrower of at ***** Library. The book is ****** by ****** and the postcard found is pink with a rhino on it. I’ve just popped it by the desk. 

 How lovely is that! I should note I took out the name of the book and the author as I wasn’t overwhelmed by the book and wouldn’t necessarily want to indorse it BUT how lovely is that! The postcard is cute but not sentimental, it’s a picture of a rhino with the quote ‘real unicorns have curves’ which made me laugh, however the act of finding this and then looking up who last had it and then emailing me…in a world where often people can’t find the time to say hello in the street I find AMAZINGLY KIND. To that degree, I plan to go to the library and collect my bookmark and perhaps take a little treat to return the gesture.

Kindness is my greatest gift, I enjoy being both the receiver and the giver and it often costs very little materially. Kindness is contagious and you can receive joy through hearing about other people’s experiences of kind acts, to that degree I hope my post this week made you smile and you are sick with kindness, if so…pass it on!