I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what it means to lighten someone’s load. Not in big, showy, grandiose ways, but in small, thoughtful ways.
This past weekend, I had the opportunity to experience it in action.
Sunday morning, along with half of Adelaide, I called into my local bakery to grab a coffee and some treats for my mum for Mother’s Day. To say it was busy would be an understatement! Every table told the story of the morning: mountains of napkins, spilled sauce, empty coffee cups separated from their saucers and exhausted staff who were run off their feet.
It’s important to note, to me, my local bakery isn’t just a place to come for a coffee and the odd sneaky sausage roll. I come here so often my friends call it my “office”. It’s a community. A safe place to land every morning, the staff know my name, and start making my order before I’m through the doors (cue the Cheers theme song!).
So, Sunday morning, while I waited, instead of scrolling through my phone, I decided to start collecting plates and cups and stacking them on a spare table by the kitchen door. Nothing dramatic. Nothing that required any particular skills or effort (absolutely nothing that required me to use a pair of tongs or know a cheese danish from an almond croissant!). Nothing that would win me any Employee of the Month awards!
Did my plate collecting ease the congestion at the coffee line? No.
Did I manage to find a damp cloth to clean the tables? No.
Did I give the overworked staff a moment to breathe and one less thing on their list of things to do? Yes, I managed to do that.
I’m not telling you this because I want an Employee of the Month award (or should that be customer of the month?!) but because I’ve been thinking about how impactful small moments of support can be.
I see that you’re slammed. I see that there’s something I can do to ease your load. I’ll choose to do that instead of what I’d usually do.
Sometimes simply recognising and responding in the smallest of ways in the moment can be more supportive than any big grand gesture. Helping in small, meaningful ways builds reciprocity, community, and a quiet understanding that none of us, not even the six people feverishly sliding vanilla slice, lamingtons, or hot pies into bags on Mother’s Day, can do it all, all the time.
The question I keep coming back to is this: what could you do today, without it being a big deal, it might just make someone else feel seen for a while and make their day (or job) a little bit easier?
Here’s to a week of not saving anyone, but looking up, noticing and being human.
Bel x
Every Sunday afternoon, Bel sends the Ignite community a personal note of encouragement – reflection, inspiration, stories, and sharing. It’s our way of helping you prepare for the week ahead. Add your details here to receive Here’s The Thing in your inbox.