Be kind. Please rewind.
If you’re old enough to have wasted hours of your life perusing the aisles of a Blockbuster Video store only to walk away with an old standby that you’ve seen fourteen times, you’re likely familiar with the plea to “Be kind. Please rewind.” It saved the staff huge amounts of time to have the customers rewind the VHS tapes before returning them. It should be noted, there was a small fee that served to encourage this kindness.
I’m old enough to remember this and many tales of VHS days gone by. I’d love to dive into a nostalgic rabbit hole and tell you all about the time I encountered a guy who brought his pet duck into Blockbuster on a leash, presumably to help him pick a winner. However, today I’d like to offer a path to explore rather than a hole to lose yourself in.
“It’s amazing how someone’s act of kindness can truly make your day.”
This quote is part of a comment my mom left on a previous post called Feel good moment brought to you by FedEx. This post tells the story of FedEx Brett and how our small kindnesses toward each other mean so much to us both, especially these days. High five, Mom! In my response to her comment, I mentioned how acts of kindness make your day as the giver as well as the receiver. Then for some reason, I signed off with the phrase Be kind. Please rewind.
Be kind. Please rewind.
There was nothing clever about using this phrase as a sign off. I just enjoy saying it! The only thought that did occur to me at the time was that my mom would likely read it and think what the hell does that have to do with anything? Nothing, really.
And yet I couldn’t shake the thought that this phrase goes deeper and wider than the kindness of rewinding a VHS tape before you return it. The connection between kind and rewind is powerful and exponentially positive.
Attention all hoarders!
Don’t be stingy with acts of kindness or hold them tightly to your chest. No sir! Share, rewind and share again and again with wanton abandon! The more kindness you share with others, the more kindness you’re sharing with yourself. It’s the textbook definition of WIN WIN!
Every size fits all!
There are no character limits or size requirements. No dollar amounts or time frames. An act of kindness is anything genuinely and thoughtfully given to, said to, or done for another. Literally anything! It could be a smile, a note, a dirty limerick or … a new car!
Also, the recipient doesn’t have to be a person. For example, I stop laughing at my idiot cat flailing around with his head stuck in the handle of a plastic grocery bag and help him get unstuck. Boom … act of kindness!
Sharing is caring.
The thing about acts of kindness is that they can’t live inside your head. Share them! Don’t get bogged down trying to come up with some perfect gesture. Remember: every size fits all! And in sharing kindness with others, you’re filling up your own cup as well. Win win.
Although Blockbuster Video is a thing of the past, it has given us a timeless legacy … a sort of spiritual technology that will never become obsolete.
Kindness can be as simple as a smile or sharing a pork roast. I recently went to my butcher to get pork chops for Joe & I for dinner. A lovely little old lady was asking him if he could cut an already small pork roast in half for her since she lived alone. He said he couldn’t. I stepped up and offered to take the other half of the roast. She beamed! The butcher beamed! He cut the roast in half for us. (She couldn’t thank me enough.) I redirected my menu. I felt really good about this small act of kindness for quite a few days. I still do.
I love this story, Audrey! It was an actual WIN WIN WIN!! Thank you for sharing!
I do it all the time, it is kind of addicting. Holding a door for a person with a bunch of bags or just a couple but wrangling a toddler. We go get coffee A LOT, and sometimes we pay for the person behind us in line. Stuff like that. I think if you send kindness out to the universe, it will find its way back to you in some form that you need it.
I totally agree, Jules!
There once was a man from Nantucket…..
Who carried his balls in a bucket?
I really appreciated this blog!!
I think “Be Kind…Rewind” is even more a statement of today. We can go forward by going back to a more kind, civil, truthful time. Acts of kindness (with no thought of reaping the benefits from those acts) are a training tool for life. We do feel better when we can help others in need. That doesn’t mean that we don’t need too. Years ago, I ran a food drive for the Food Bank at a relatively poor elementary school. Those families gave twice as much food and cash as the well-to-do schools. That is a lesson I learned…help others when you can, someone once helped you, and you will need help in the future too.
Well said, Mary. I love what you said about acts of kindness being training tools for life. A kind soul is the very foundation of character, and just think what we could build with these tools!!
Thank you for reading! XOXON
Great perspective. Kindness goes a long way. Love your bulletin board too. That’s got to be a happiness boost to see those kind notes. I enjoy your writing Noelle.
Thank you for taking the time to read this post, Carolyn! You’re so right – kindness does go a long way!