The New Rules of Kindness

How to be kind? in a time when the whole meaning of kindness has taken a belly flop? a time when a hug could possibly be the rudest, meanest possible form of social interaction! When the famous dialogue from Mean Girls ‘You cant sit with us’ may just as well be the nicest thing you say to someone, foregoing your friend’s invite to a ‘casual hang’ is being considerate, a loving kiss on the cheek is basically a murder weapon. And offering your hand for a handshake? HOSH MEIN TO HO?? MARWAO GI KYA?

Living through a time when a highly contagious pandemic is sweeping the globe, the social cues, and niceties we’ve known to be considerate and sweet, have become weapons of mass destruction, that too in a matter of days! No hugs, no kisses, no meetups, no invites, no physical interaction at all!

Well then how to be kind? How to reassure yourself and those around you that you're not the second coming of the Grinch? Check out these organizations and individuals who can truly teach us a thing or two about kindness 2.0, Welcome to the future guys!

Wonderful charities doing wonderful things!

As mythical as it may sound, there are dozens of initiatives that sprung up overnight to help, volunteer and collaborate, so much so that it was impolitely impossible for us to list down a few but we picked few out of several NGOs, charities and individual resources to make the process easy for you to reach out and help, for misery now is shared more than ever. Together we can practice strength, solidarity and hope as we survive through the times.

Our vocabulary is changing, and it may look like quarantine and isolation are the only possibilities don’t forget to add in kindness, empathy and compassion.

Donate, Share, or Volunteer; every little act of kindness matters.

#EhsaasKaro:

As a response to the current situation, Rizq has initiated a National movement under the hashtag to help mitigate the devastating impact and believes that only through ‘Ehsaas’ and ‘Compassion’ we can fight this crisis.

Help them reach their first target of providing monthly food to 10,000 affected families. Check with them on their Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/p/B-Fg4nIJ56R/?igshid=15cunavtga8m9

Akhuwat Corona Imdad fund:

Akhuwat through their microfinance platform is collecting donations and distributing them among people in form of free food, medical facilities and free tests.

They have set up a separate section on website under ‘Akhuwat Corona Imdad Fund’ and could be reached on the following: https://akhuwat.org.pk/

Robinhood Army

Robinhood Army is non-monetary organization and is collecting ration boxes to distribute among daily wagers, laborers, unemployed and needy families.

They can be approached via their Instagram page on the following link (which has further details of contact): https://www.instagram.com/p/B_MuQCRpXxH/

#EhsaasKaroNa

A group of instagrammers have come forward and are running a consolidated campaign for the collection of funds for organizations and individuals who are doing ration drives and helping provide protective gears to medical workers.

They have also set up a website where you can contact them for donations or trace all the donations coming in. Link: https://laalpatti.com/campaigns/ehsaaskarona/

Free mental health counselling by Sukoon!

While there are many working on other fronts, it’s imperative to look after each other in other ways during these challenging times. Sukoon Mental Services on twitter is offering free consultations with verified therapists.A session can help you deal better with quarantine time if you are feeling anxious and uncertain.

Contact them on their twitter: https://twitter.com/sukoonMS

Short films to spread awareness by Studio Rokhan!

While it may seem like going out and working on the front lines is the only possible part we can play, it is not entirely true. Creating awareness and reaching out to maximum people to create awareness, so majority of them can make maximum of this quarantine time. For this purpose Studio Rokhan is producing short films that centers around creating a narrative around Coronavirus, how its spreads and how can we keep ourselves safe. Art now, is vital, like art at all times.

Reach them on their twitter/ accounts to spread their message across. https://twitter.com/rokhan_official

Be Kind: Help your community!

Unprecedented times call for unprecedented kindness. What ifs could be troubling for so many of us but make sure that you are checking on your neighbours. Or support a local business. Kindness is also generosity, make sure you are not hoarding on stuff. Among other things, find a way to say thank you to your health professionals, this could be a word of encouragement on social media, practising understanding. Speaking of helping a community, Ammara Sikander and Umer Hussayn’s names come to mind who are producing and distributing PPEs at minimal rates, and free for doctors fighting on front lines. We need more individuals like these, but together we can be a force. Contact them on Instagram or Facebook to help them amplify the cause.

Pick that phone up: Call your loved ones!!

Call your best friend, leave a text or FaceTime to see their face. Call your grandparents, your favourite cousin, your phupho or maasi. Write emails or bring back the charm of those old handwritten hands to send away when all this is over.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B-zUYlbHFq3/

If you are too lazy to do all that, share a link to a song or a DIY video from @diariesofnomad for care and kindness has no rules, and we need to do better than merely texting.

Do not forget to be kind to yourself:

While you are taking care of everyone, make sure that you don’t forget yourself amidst all. This extra time is finally your chance to declutter, clean out or organize or maybe finally get to sorting out of all those pictures on your device? Read, meditate, cook or do whatever it takes to keep yourself calm. It’s okay to sometimes feel sad over it but at the end of it, be thankful for whatever you have. And keep hope and faith that we’ll get through this, together.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B-2BCJcBT6R/

We all have our coping mechanisms, sometimes these could be listening to Urdu stories narrated by Amina Sheikh with our children, or listening to Ali Sethi’s live sessions, or at other times it could be watching Yoga and food videos or Netflix even, but make sure we stand together, in empathy, in sustenance, and in harmony.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B-cUOYZBMdE/ For world could be multifaceted, but world is human.