From heartbreak to hope: the Aussie movement proving kindness heals

Australian Community Media

Kindness ambassador Kath Koschel turned personal trauma into purpose. In this exclusive interview, she shares how small acts of compassion helped her overcome life-shattering adversity and inspired her global movement teaching kindness in thousands of schools.

Transcript

00:00we are more lonely right now than we've ever been before yet we're more digitally and

00:04technologically connected than we've ever been what is the antidote to loneliness it's belonging

00:10we're hardwired for connection i've got a friend who's just taken long service leave and i said

00:14what are you going to do she said i don't know i just can't face work anymore and i said what

00:18what's the problem and she said well i work from home every day most of the time i don't talk to

00:22anyone because she's single lives by herself etc and i was like i think i feel like you're just

00:27lonely at the moment like why don't you go to the gym classes that you used to go to or go for a

00:33walk and with your dogs a dog park and just chat to someone and i feel like that might start to shift

00:38and the impact of being lonely is is now compared to smoking a packet of cigarettes today in terms of

00:45cigarettes per day in terms of its effect on our physical and mental health again the antidote to

00:52loneliness is belonging and we get belonging through connection and the kinder we are the more

00:57connections that we tend to have so our relationships start to improve we can have deeper connections

01:02when we are kind and again it's it's got to be true and authentic kindness not niceness so

01:07the great story i tell one of my best mates when i was in rehab um i was there for 12 months and i

01:15hadn't even reached a weak milestone i was on day six and i was way too far ahead of myself and i was

01:20just battling i was like i don't want to be here like it's horrible i called my best mate erin and i said

01:25mate and i could barely get the words out said could you come and pick me up she's what do you

01:30mean you're in rehab i was there visiting yesterday and i said i know mate um but i'm battling and if

01:35my health deteriorates then i'm okay with that but i can't be here anymore and um she kind of paused

01:42and i could tell she was battling too because she was breathing heavy heavy and um and she hated that

01:47i was in there and she just said mate um it's breaking me to hear this way like you're my best mate and

01:52there's nothing in the world i wouldn't do for you you know that and if i could trade places with

01:56you i would but i can't cath and that kills me to say but i'm going to make you a promise instead i

02:01won't come and pick you up i'll come visit right now and we're going to hug and do whatever we need

02:05to do but my promise beyond that is that if you pick up your phone at any other day i don't care

02:10what time it is 2 a.m 3 a.m i really don't care my promise is that i'm going to answer it and i'm

02:16going to come in and i'm going to hold your hand and we're going to take these steps together

02:19you're not alone i've seen you do hard things you can get this done and i always referred back

02:24to that this is one of the most poignant moments of my life where i was like that's true friendship

02:29to me and that's kindness in action nice in that moment would have been this yeah i agree it's a

02:35hellhole i'll come pick you up and we'll go wherever we will go get ice cream and beer whatever you want

02:40to get but she didn't she just acknowledged that that was the best place for me to be in that moment

02:44i needed to face into it but i but the most important part was i wasn't alone and i always

02:50say that's the difference but that's kindness in action not niceness in action

02:53you

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