https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/who-really-invented-the-smiley-face-2058483/

Having read a colleague’s reflection on the past year, I started to think about my own experiences of the year and what meaning it had for me.

As a criminologist I am critical of what I read, see and experience, consequently I have a fairly cynical view of the world and I have to say, the world rarely disappoints.  But amongst all the chaos, violence and political hubris, there must surely be chinks of light, otherwise what is the point.  A challenge then, to find the positive rather than view the negative, as hard as that may seem.

My year was difficult on both a professional and personal front and it tested my resilience and patience to the full.  I have suffered poor health resulting in spells in hospital and long periods away from work.  Difficult to engineer any positive spin on that but I’m sure I can give it a go.

We all have read about and no doubt many of us have experienced the crippling effect of an often reported, failing National Health Service (NHS).  It would be easy to state the problems and apportion blame, but in doing so we miss some nuggets of positivity (is that a real word?). I have nothing but praise for the staff working under extreme pressure within the health system.  When I was suddenly taken ill at home the paramedics that attended were brilliant, one a student from our home university.  When I arrived at the hospital, despite a manic casualty unit, I was well cared for by another student from the university.  I single these students out because there is a sense of pride in knowing that I am part of an institution that helps teach and coach health staff that care so well for others.  Of course, it would be remiss of me not to mention that all of the other staff were kind and caring.  Later when I was admitted to hospital after a number of visits, I found my care to be exemplary.  I know this is not everyone’s experience and when we read the news or watch it on television it is all about failure.  My exemplary care and that of many around me isn’t particularly newsworthy.  Whilst in hospital I was visited by volunteers who were distributing books, kind people that give up their time to help others.  When my wife visited, she came in with a cup of coffee purchased from a café within the hospital run by volunteers.  More people giving up their time.  I know of and feel privileged to have taught and still teach students that volunteer in all sorts of organisations around the country.  The cynical side of me says that we shouldn’t have to have volunteers doing this but that is not really the point is it? The point is that there are kind and caring people around that do it to make life a little easier for others.

A prolonged absence from work caused some chaos in teaching, mitigated by colleagues that stepped in.  Busy colleagues, overloaded colleagues, who had additional burdens placed upon them due to my absence.  Even now on returning to work colleagues are having to take up the slack to cover for my current inability to work at full capacity.  But despite these burdens, I have experienced nothing but support and kindness not just resultant of my illness but throughout what has been a difficult year.  Difficult to be cynical except that to say some of the difficulties faced should never have arisen but the point is that there were kind and caring people around to provide much needed help and support.

If I turn my thoughts to wider issues, the dreadful events at Fishmonger’s Hall served to remind us of the violent world we live in but that very event also serves to remind us of the kind, caring and brave nature of many.  The victims Jack Merritt and Saskia Jones were both engaged in a project that was aimed at making society a better place.  Those that tackled the terrorist showed the sort of selfless bravery that epitomises the essence of human nature.

If we think about it and it probably doesn’t take too much thinking, we can find countless examples of good things being done by kind and caring people.  We can be cynical and suggest that the situations should never have arisen in the first place that necessitated that kindness or those actions, but the incidents and situations are there and are played out in society every day, C’est la vie’.  Maybe, just occasionally, rather than thinking about doom and gloom, we should celebrate the capacity of people to simply be human.