The Kindness of Friends

The photo above is from the 50th reunion of a group I traveled with for a year starting in the summer of 1974. Made up of over 100 young people from 10 different countries, my cast of Up With People traveled and performed in Europe, Northern Africa and the U.S.

I didn’t know anyone in the group when we first arrived in Belgium to start staging the show. But during our long days of song and dance rehearsal we quickly found each other, navigating different languages and customs and starting to form what turned out to be friendships that have now endured for over 5 decades.

When I reflect on the thousands of small kindnesses that these friends have showered on me over the years, I am aware that each one of them has helped to chisel the marble of my life, shape my values and bring me joy. And they have also given me a huge gift: they’ve allowed me to accompany them on their journeys.

We are all different. Finding our way with each other is sometimes hard. But a small kindness can often allow for a way forward with those we might otherwise dismiss. That’s what the Kindness Walk is all about.