3 minute read
MSPT President
A KINDNESS ANTIDOTE
The Power of Small Acts in Difficult Times
LISA AUSMUS
BY LISA AUSMUS, president, Michigan Society of Pharmacy Technicians
Life has changed a lot over the last year and a half, and it has affected how we relate to one another. We have been more socially distant from one another, both family and strangers alike. We have wondered if someone near us could make us ill or if we could make them ill. As essential workers, we have wondered if we will bring illness home to our families. Most of us continued to work through this changing landscape of daily living, but many others did not. These changes have left many people feeling isolated and alone during a difficult, unprecedented time in our history. Many wonder how to maintain their health, both physically and mentally.
I remember a saying growing up: “It takes a village...” While I know that refers to raising a child, I think it can also apply to life in general.
Even putting the pandemic aside, with advances in technology, we have lost some of the social norms of the past: the neighborhood picnics, sending a “thinking of you” note, talking with strangers at the beach. The way neighbors looked out for one another and helped each other with small things. I remember how adults in my neighborhood taught us children life lessons we needed to learn when our own parents could not be around to witness our shenanigans.
Today, so much of that “village” has changed or fallen by the wayside. I wonder about those of us who have no family nearby, and now with the restrictions and enforced distance, are feeling truly alone. It is easy to imagine how
some of the humanity we all ought to show one another can sometimes get put on the back burner.
Daily in our profession – which most of us have chosen to be able to help others – we dispense medications to treat physical ailments. We often overlook, however, the benefit that a simple act or kind word can have on a patient to augment the effects of that medication.
My parents taught me to treat others as I wanted them to treat me. That is a life lesson I continue to remember. While we all get caught up in the hustle of daily living, sometimes we need a nudge to take a moment and just breathe, to look around and imagine what a great world we could have.
Those of us with life experience and wisdom to share can help younger generations learn about some of the “old ways of thinking.” A kind gesture can mean a lot to someone who is struggling.
A simple wave to a neighbor as we drive past might lift their spirits in ways we can’t know or predict. Saying, “Hi, it’s nice to see you,” might be the only live conversation that person has had in a while. Telling the cashier to “have a wonderful day,” or holding a door open for the next person can make them feel seen or cared about, even just a little bit.
These are just small things that can have a significant effect toward making society a better place, and they do not cost any money. Afterall, happiness is contagious, and that’s a pandemic I would love to be a part of.
