Sandra Sampson: Spread a little Christmas Kindness

Sandra Sampson (Image: Archant)

Wow its Christmas 2020, well done for having made it through one of the most difficult years, certainly in my living memory.

I’d like you all to do me one favour on Christmas day and that is ring just one person who you haven’t spoken to for a while or better still someone who lives alone and wish them “a very Happy Christmas”.

If we all did this, we would all contribute to brightening their day and bringing a smile to someone’s face. I fundamentally believe Christmas is for giving and this small act of kindness, especially for someone on their own, will offer a break from loneliness they may be experiencing.

Christmas is an emotional time of year and the feeling of loneliness is heightened tenfold over the festive period, we are sociable beings and being alone is not normal.

The problem with loneliness this year with the current Covid restrictions, may mean that more people than ever will be alone as their family gatherings cannot go ahead as planned.

Many may fall foul of the criteria laid out by the Government or they are afraid to mix with family members that are in Tier 3 or working in more risky Covid environs.

Elderly grandparents that are so vulnerable may be missing out on family gatherings.

Apart from one year when I visited Australia I have never spent a Christmas without my parents, this year they will spend it at my youngest sister’s home to avoid the mixing of households.

It is really sad but we all have to make sacrifices this year.

Sadly, loneliness is a state that can lead to depression as the darkness fills our mind and our worst fears creep in under the door.

We all know that this is when perspective is lost as we have no one to share our troubles with. For a problem shared is a problem halved so after you have wished them a very Happy Christmas just ask them genuinely how they are.

Spend time listening to them, not passing judgement or trying to solve their problems, just support and show love and kindness.

This is a two-way transaction, you will be amazed how enlightened you also feel.

Your troubles and stresses will be far less troubling and all those trivialities you were worrying about will seem to disappear.

Helping others is a real fillip with tangible evidence that helps both parties mentally and physically, whilst also setting a wonderful example to those around us.

My 89 year old mother in law was born in India, trained as a Nightingale nurse St Thomas’ Hospital in London and then lived and worked in Kenya for 40 years.

She spent most of her life giving to others and she was richly rewarded with an MBE which, by the way, she never mentions to anyone.

She served in the Red Cross in Kenya helping young mothers and starving babies to survive in a world without any state aid. She did this alongside ensuring that these young mothers could take more control of their lives through contraception and family planning.

Families would walk for miles just to benefit from her help.

Her services were all given gratuitously and were an essential part of many a young child’s survival.

She now lives on her own and an hour in her company passes quickly by with her wisdom and whit. In front of our eyes we often just see the frail, often slow and forgetful elderly person, we forget they have lived and experienced an amazing and wonderful life.

Take the time this Christmas to learn more about your grandparents or an elderly person’s past, it is very often fascinating and you will most likely be amazed.

So Happy Christmas to all you wonderful people, have a great day, eat, drink and be merry but most of all be safe and I very much look forward to continuing to write for you all in the New Year.