Kindness should not surprise us.
It should feel normal to notice when someone is struggling. It should feel natural to pause, offer a hand, give someone time, or simply ask, “Can I help?” Yet in everyday life, kindness can sometimes feel so rare that when it happens, people are genuinely touched by it.
Helen’s recent reflection begins in a rainy car park. The rain was pouring, the sky was grey, and most people were trying to get back to their cars and carry on with their day.
But in the middle of that rain, Helen noticed a lady with a young baby. She was trying to manage the baby, the car door, the baby carrier and the umbrella all at once. The umbrella was open, but it was leaning on the ground while she focused on getting her baby safely secured.
So Helen stopped and offered to help.
It was not a grand gesture. It was simply a human one. Could she hold the umbrella? Could she help in some small way? Could she make that moment easier?
The lady was grateful. More than that, she seemed genuinely moved that someone had noticed and stopped.
And that is the part that stays with you.
Why should kindness feel unusual? Why should a simple offer of help feel unexpected? Why should someone be surprised because another person paused long enough to see that they could use a hand?
It says something about the pace of the world we are living in. People are busy, distracted and often rushing from one thing to the next. In the middle of all that, it becomes easy to stop looking around.
But kindness begins with noticing.
At RYTC Creatives CIC (The RYTC), kindness is something we deeply encourage because creative spaces need to feel safe before people can truly show up. Young people need encouragement, patience, and understanding. They need to feel welcomed as they are, not only when they get everything right.
This is especially important for those who are brilliantly underestimated.
The brilliantly underestimated are often the people whose needs, strengths, and potential are missed because they do not always fit neatly into traditional expectations. They may have been misunderstood, overlooked, or labeled before they have been properly listened to.
For them, kindness is not just a nice extra. It can be the beginning of safety.
A kind word can help someone try again. A patient response can build confidence. A simple moment of encouragement can remind someone that their voice deserves space.
Helen’s rainy car park moment reminds us that we do not always need to change someone’s whole life to make a difference. Sometimes, we just need to change one moment. One stressful moment. One moment, someone was managing alone until somebody noticed.
That kind of kindness has a ripple effect. The person receiving it may carry it into the rest of their day. They may feel lighter, less alone, and more reminded that people still care.
So perhaps the real question is not only, “Why are we surprised by kindness?”
Perhaps the deeper question is, “How do we make kindness feel normal again?”
We start by looking around. We start by paying attention. We start by doing the small bit we can, even when it feels like nothing much to us.
Because to someone else, it might not feel small at all.
Kindness should not feel like a foreign word in everyday life. It should be something we practise, encourage and pass on, in our homes, our schools, our creative spaces, our communities and even in rainy car parks.
Watch Helen’s full reflection here:
https://youtu.be/IUoItHeSLOQ
Creative Pathway Methodology: Of Course You Can!™ serving the brilliantly underestimated
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