Wake Up Sydney!

Wake Up Sydney! That’s not an order, it’s the name of a kind of movement that Sydneysider Jono Fisher started in 2008 after he quit his corporate job, became a manny (not as in Handy Manny the cartoon character, but as in a male-nanny manny) and generally took his life on a different path. Jono was burnt out, exhausted and his successful business career no longer held the appeal that it once had – in his words, it all just felt wrong. (I hear ya, Jono Fisher.)

So Jono started Wake Up Sydney – “a community of 12,000 people celebrating kindness and courage”. Jono’s goal is for Sydney to become the “kindness capital of the world”, encouraging us to be kinder to each other and build a stronger sense of community and connection in this super busy city. I know it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but like this idea a lot. And to help people get started, the website has a heap of info and suggestions for being kinder to ourselves and others.

You can even request a pack of free “kindness cards”, which you can then use to accompany random acts of kindness, encouraging the recipient to pay it forward and do the same.

I read a story somewhere once that has stuck with me and seems to me to be a great example of this kind of thing: a couple and their young kids were having dinner at a restaurant and when they went up to pay, their bill had already been sorted by an older couple who had been dining near them. The older couple had left a message to compliment them on what a lovely family they were and what a great job they were doing raising their children. Apparently, this same thing had happened to the older couple way back when they were younger and they wanted to share that kindness and warm, fuzzy feeling with these young parents.

It might be sappy, but I think that is pretty awesome.

I really like the kindness cards – I have just received some and will get them out and about working their magic soon. If you’re interested, the Wake Up Sydney website (where you Sydneysiders can order some cards too) is here. And if you’re not in Sydney, I’m sure you can still do this and be kind, wherever you are!