{"id":13311,"date":"2026-05-10T18:24:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-10T18:24:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/13311\/"},"modified":"2026-05-10T18:24:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-10T18:24:10","slug":"30-musicians-came-out-of-nowhere-on-the-streets-of-paris-and-began-singing-bohemian-rhapsody","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/13311\/","title":{"rendered":"30 musicians came out of nowhere on the streets of Paris and began singing ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Acts of kindness<\/a>: we know they\u2019re important not only for others, but for ourselves. They can contribute to a more positive community<\/a> and help us feel more connected, happier<\/a> even. But in our incessantly busy and hectic lives, performing good deeds<\/a> can feel like an unattainable goal. Or perhaps we equate generosity with monetary<\/a> contribution, which can feel like an impossible task depending on a person\u2019s financial situation.<\/p>\n

Have you ever felt guilty<\/a> because you don\u2019t spend enough time volunteering<\/a>? Or maybe because you can\u2019t or don\u2019t give much money to charity? It\u2019s not a good feeling, and you can sometimes feel stuck not knowing what to do about it. But being kind and generous to others doesn\u2019t have to be hard, or take much time, or cost anything at all.<\/p>\n

One social media user posed the question: \u201cwhat\u2019s a small act of kindness that literally anyone can do\/practice everyday?<\/a>\u201d and people gave some brilliantly simple ideas.<\/p>\n

Eight small acts that actually make a difference<\/p>\n

Here are eight easy-to-accomplish crowdsourced answers that might bring us one step closer to a more peaceful world:<\/p>\n

1. Be aware of your surroundings<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cEither move with the flow of traffic or get to the side if you have to situate yourself.\u201d \u2013 @JoeMorgue<\/p>\n

Americans, in particular, seem to get obsessed with the idea of \u201cwinning.\u201d Walk around and\/or faster than the next person, or refusing to give way. It\u2019s a really kind and considerate move to make space for other people to exist comfortably.<\/p>\n

2. Use headphones when taking public transport<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you don\u2019t have them \u2013 you can go 20 minutes without making excessive noise while sharing a small space with other people.\u201d \u2013 @cynthiayeo<\/p>\n

Often there\u2019s no law or rule in place that \u201cforces\u201d you to do the polite thing, like minding how much noise you make on an airplane or public transport. But it\u2019s a simple thing to do that goes a long way for the people around you.<\/p>\n

3. Give compliments<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you have a charitable thought about someone, even a stranger, say it out loud to their face. It is free, it is easy, and it might be the best thing that has happened to that person all week. Nothing creepy or overtly sexual or flirty, just kind words. \u2018That shirt is really your color! Your haircut is beautiful. I appreciate your help, you were a real lifesaver!\u2019 It doesn\u2019t cost you anything and it means the world to the people you are talking to.\u201d \u2013 @Comments_Wyoming<\/p>\n

Everyone loves receiving genuine, no-strings-attached compliments! In fact, we often think about them all day, or even for longer. Don\u2019t withhold praise. Give it freely<\/a> and openly, when you really mean it.<\/p>\n

4. Hold doors open for people<\/p>\n

\u201cMakes a big difference in one\u2019s day.\u201d \u2013 @sconnie64<\/p>\n

Holding doors isn\u2019t just for gentlemen out on a date. Hold doors for everyone equally; it\u2019s a really sweet and polite gesture.<\/p>\n

5. Don\u2019t act on road rage<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cAfter several years of commuting I came to the realization that with a few exceptional days, I always got home at the same time. Regardless of how many people \u2018cut me off\u2019 or drove too slowly and whatever. I started to just \u2018go with the flow\u2019 and always let people in when needed, always give extra room, and just enjoy my music\/podcast. Life changing.\u201d \u2013 @CPCOpposesAbortion<\/p>\n

Who knows what it is about being in a car that just gets our blood boiling. Maybe it\u2019s the slight anonymity, a little like being in an internet comment section? In any case, don\u2019t indulge. If someone cuts you off, give them the benefit of the doubt and just move on. It was probably an accident anyway.<\/p>\n

6. Have patience<\/p>\n

\u201cYou never know what someone else is going through. Could be a breakup, their dog just died, granny finally made it to heaven, or maybe mom just broke the news that she\u2019s got end stage cervical cancer and has weeks left to live. You never know, so be patient. After all, wouldn\u2019t you want someone to be patient with you?\u201d \u2013 @mamalion12<\/p>\n

Assuming the best in people is a really good start when it comes to kindness. Most people aren\u2019t out to be difficult or rude. Give them a little grace and there\u2019s no telling how much they\u2019ll appreciate it.<\/p>\n

7. Thank the people you live with for taking care of things around the house<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t have to be over the top, but everyone feels better about doing chores when it is noticed and appreciated. \u2018Thanks for folding my laundry\u2019 or \u2018thanks for always keeping track of our bills, you\u2019re awesome at managing money!\u2019\u201d \u2013 @Mrshaydee<\/p>\n

This goes for kids, too! When they remember to pick up after themselves, reinforce the behavior with praise. Make time to appreciate your partner and family members, too, no matter how small their contributions.<\/p>\n

8. Leave a place you visit just a little bit nicer than when you found it<\/p>\n

\u201cPick up a piece of litter at the park. Give that mat with a pucker ready to trip someone a little tug to get it to lay flat in the business you\u2019re at. Let an employee know when you spot a leaky dairy product on the shelves so they can deal with it. Return someone else\u2019s grocery cart.\u201d \u2013 @BlueberryPiano<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t be the \u201cSomeone else will deal with it,\u201d person when you can be the someone else! It doesn\u2019t take any effort at all most of the time to grab a piece of litter. And don\u2019t even get me started on returning the grocery cart. It\u2019s a basic test of human kindness<\/a> that too many people fail. It\u2019s the easiest thing in the world and saves both employees and the next customer time.<\/p>\n

So why aren\u2019t we doing this already?<\/p>\n

Perhaps surprisingly, the main reason people don\u2019t offer more acts of kindness is the fear of being misunderstood. That is, at least, according to The Kindness Test<\/a>: an online questionnaire about being nice to others that more than 60,000 people from 144 countries completed. It does make sense having your good intentions be viewed as an awkward source of discomfort is not exactly fun for either party. You can imagine that complimenting a stranger could easily be interpreted the wrong way, for example.<\/p>\n

However, the results of The Kindness Test also indicated those fears were perhaps unfounded. The most common words people used were \u201chappy,\u201d \u201cgrateful,\u201d \u201cloved,\u201d \u201crelieved\u201d and \u201cpleased\u201d to describe their feelings after receiving kindness. Less than 1% of people said they felt embarrassed, according to the BBC<\/a>.<\/p>\n

So, maybe with kindness, we need to put our social anxieties away and act without overthinking (to a certain point, of course). Perhaps it\u2019s best to find the simplest actions we can commit to on a daily basis, rather than formulating some grandiose gesture.<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared four years ago. It has been updated.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Acts of kindness: we know they\u2019re important not only for others, but for ourselves. They can contribute to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":13312,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[9955,9956,9957,9958,9959,9960,8868,9961,9962,9963,30,9964,9965,9966],"class_list":{"0":"post-13311","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-paris","8":"tag-popular_source-pageview","9":"tag-bohemian-rhapsody","10":"tag-bohemian-rhapsody-cover","11":"tag-bohemian-rhapsody-paris","12":"tag-flash-mob","13":"tag-freddie-mercury","14":"tag-joy","15":"tag-julien-cohen","16":"tag-mickey-castillo","17":"tag-olly-pearson","18":"tag-paris","19":"tag-queen","20":"tag-queen-cover","21":"tag-viral-music"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13311","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13311"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13311\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13312"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13311"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13311"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13311"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}