the kindness of the McMaster staff

I am a large Irish bull. This often causes problems for me in terms of my functional performance for daily activities. However, today I was lucky when McMaster staff called to help me out of my Irish Bull moment (i.e. making an absurd comment or mistake). I was trying to have my transcript send to the college of occupational therapists, but foolishly I had written the wrong address on my fax form. Staff from the registrar's office called to tell me that they had a different address and also that they had looked it up online and the address was different from what I had. How nice of them to call! I am one fortunate person. I asked them to make the correction and send it off. They agreed. They are so kind and I am one lucky Irish bull.

The Kindness of Dexter Cattle

I recently met some very kind folks. I use the word folks because it is kind of farm like and ranch-ish and that's exactly who these individuals were. If you will believe it, they were Dexter cattle...four of them! Interestingly, they were interviewing me for a job and true to their breed they were very inquisitive. There was over an hour of questioning about my thinking around theories and practices. Although, I didn't ask them, the word of the street is that they are all descendants of one breed that comes from Ireland and dates back to the 16th century. At any rate, all of this questioning was aimed at one very specific purpose, which was to see if I would fit in with them or could be moulded to behave in their ways. They asked me if I was easily trained. I admit, in some ways I have a lot in common with Dexter cattle, as I assured them that I pick up new things very quickly and am good at retaining information. Also, like them I am inquisitive and eager to learn concepts. I am also very hardy; just like them, which they saw as a bonus because it means that I am less likely to take extended sick leave. I've heard that Dexter cattle are also very good at calving young, which is how they put it. In fact that is the reason I am needed, or at least interviewing in the first place. You see one of their own is due to give birth and I may be called in as a replacement. That is, if they like me. By all accounts, we had a good meeting and they were so kind to at least show interest in me and my potential. They said they would let me know if my services are needed and I am hoping to hear from them soon. Either way, I would like to thank the Dexter cattle for a lovely time on their little farm.

the kindness of friendly elephants

I have been told that elephants have great memories and this is particularly true in regards to their capacity for recognizing individuals and building on complex social relationships and networks. For example, a herd of elephants relies largely on their matriarch to remember and enforce rules around daily activities such as where to retrieve food. When the matriarch dies the elephants in her herd grieve for her, deeply, remembering her as time passes. Although I do not have the greatest memory and no where near that of an elephant, I do recognize and maintain deep social bonds with a number of people in my life. Therefore, I was lucky, this past weekend to enjoy lunch with an old friend. Similar to that of an elephant, I recognized my friend approaching from a distance and anxiously ran to greet her. Also similar to our elephant counterparts, we sat and reminisced about old times; fun things we did in high school and our distant childhood. We were not able to recall every detail of all the adventures we had, but we were able to capture the spirit of the times and to celebrate the deep connections we had to each others lives. I was grateful for the opportunity to reconnect with this friend. Although we demonstrated behaviours much like those of our elephant friends, I displayed very un-elephant-like traits when I realized that I forgot my bank card, just as we were going to pay. Elephants never forget, but I tend to and at the most inopportune times! Therefore, I was also very thankful for the kindness of my friend, as she lent me the money to pay for lunch. I may forget a lot of things, but I will never forget her and her kind nature.

the kindness of breastfeeding mammals

A friend just showed me the greatest kindness. I am applying for a research-type job in the area of public health and this friend just sent me a myriad of information about public health trends and research. Much of the information was in regards to breastfeeding which I believe is the study area that I would be working in, if I got this job. I am very grateful to my friend for sharing all of her knowledge with me; she is indeed a smart cookie!I learned a great deal about the benefits of breastfeeding just from reading her message. For example, breastfeeding protects mammals against certain kinds of infections and illnesses. In humans, it increases the likelihood that a person who was breastfeed will have lower cholesterol, compared to those whom were feed with formula. Most shocking was the fact that breast milk changes as mammals develop, in order to ensure that it is always providing the proper nutritional balance. The wonders of breast milk! Therefore, I have concluded that mammals of all persuasions, who have mammary glands, show their young the greatest and most life-sustaining kindness by offering them breast milk. Thanks to my friend for this information and thanks to mammals of the world for having mammary glands!

the kindness of the paradoxical frog

Several years ago, I was fortunate enough to work with clients at a schizophrenia clinic and they taught me a lot about kindness. It may be somewhat politically incorrect or at least unsavoury to compare people who have schizophrenia to those in the animal kingdom. However, I think it is also an interesting and somewhat logical (possibly unremarkable) step to compare these individuals to the paradoxical frog. One one very basic level, the paradoxical frog is a nocturnal creature and to some degree, since humans are diurnal, we do not understand the behaviours of this nocturnal frog. What happens during those early morning hours remains a mystery to us and in this same way often the behaviour of those with schizophrenia is not well understood (and often not appreciated) by those who have not experienced the disease. In the same way that the paradoxical frog is a paradox, so are those with schizophrenia, in the sense that their experiences defy intuition or logical. For example, hallucinations and delusions are not logical experiences or thoughts; they do not make sense to the casual observer, who may be trying to uncover the rationale behind them. Using this framework or line of thinking, I think its fair to say that in general people with schizophrenia have some similarities to that of the paradoxical frog. But where is the kindness component? Well, let me tell you...kindness was abundant at this schizophrenia clinic. Before heading into this experience some friends told me that it would be a scary experience to interact with people with this type of severe mental illness. Although I did, indeed, find that some of their thoughts were disturbing or unsettling, the people themselves were not scary. In fact, they were some of the kindest people I have met. I think that one of the greatest kindnesses that these people shared with me was actually letting me get to know them and sharing some time with them. Obviously it can't be easy to be in the position of sharing some intimate thoughts or questions with someone new, who has just come in and is expecting to learn from these interactions, but these people did not let this stop them from confiding in me and allowing me to understand their lives; lives that were often not easy. By allowing me a glimpse inside their lives and their minds, I was able to offer them some assistance, under the guidance of my preceptor. Often this assistance was in the form of offering support with daily activities such as money management or learning to eat healthily. Other times it was talking with them and challenging some of their maladaptive thought patterns. These clients, or paradoxical frogs, would often greet me when I arrived into the clinic and we would share pleasant chats about what they were up to. The kindness they demonstrated to me in terms of letting me into their lives for a short time helped me learn a lot about people in general and not just those with mental illnesses. However, in terms of understanding mental illness, this experience did show me that people with mental illnesses are not people whom others should be be frightened to approach. Nor are they, as some people suggest, fragile individuals. Having seen what these people encounter and endure on a daily or weekly basis and the fact that they do so while maintaining a positive perspective, for the most part, and a semblance of typical activities counteracts the idea that these people are not resilient. In fact I believe this people are remarkably resilient and also very kind.

the kindness of the safety bear

Today I was the recipient of the greatest kindness. I was at an appointment at the hospital and I had parked in the parking lot where there are automated gates and a fee necessary to lift the gates. I was on my way out of the lot, anticipating that I would pay with cash when I discovered that the machine only took credit cards. Confused, I called the parking attendant through the little speaker on the machine and she informed that that in order to pay cash for parking I would have to use a machine that was back inside the building. By this point there was a line of cars behind me and therefore my attempts to backup were unsuccessful. I was in the process of getting out of the car to tell the driver behind me that I would need to back into the parking lot again when from inside the car emerged a gigantic safety bear, dressed in full attire, as if he were the fire safety bear I had been familiar with as a child. However, the closer he came to my car the more I realized he was actually a hospital volunteer bear, dressed in the issued vest and with the requisite name badge. The bear proceeded to tell me that he could use his volunteer tag, or more specifically the barcode on it, to get me out of the parking lot. He told me to get ready to drive away and not tell anyone, as he would be in a lot of trouble if anyone found out he was helping me. Without this kindness I would really have been in a situation! Thanks volunteer bear for your benevolent act! I won't tell anyone..hahaha!

the kindness of the sea lions

As a soon-to-be occupational therapist, I am somewhat like a young sea lion, learning to navigate within its natural environment. I have some knowledge and certainly a drive to succeed, just as a sea lion is driven by its instincts to ensure its own survival. However, I am not ready to be out there, in the world alone, searching for my own prey. Therefore, I was thrilled to find out today that more experienced and mature sea lions may be willing to take me under their wing, so to speak. They will teach me to hunt by fishing the prey out of the water and throwing it onto the beach. It will then be up to me to take the skills I have and disarm the fish so we may eat it and be nourished. I am enthused, as it has been awhile since I have been able to use these skills and this specialized knowledge. Hopefully with assistance from these sea lions, I will become an efficient hunter; a sea lion able to navigate on my own. Until then I am grateful for the help these sea lions are offering to me.