Hello, lovely people of the internet! It’s a pleasure to meet you!
Why am I here, blogging about Doctor Who and kindness?
On Monday, April 17 at 7:00 PM — well, probably more like 7:05 as I’m always running late — I sat down in the theater to watch the newest episode of Doctor Who. I was particularly excited about this episode for a number of reasons: 1) it’s been well over a year since Season 9 ended, 2) we get to meet a new companion (!!), and 3) Peter Capaldi is the Doctor (although this is his last season, and I will be terribly sad to see him go).
So, I was quite excited. Excited enough to pay to see the Doctor on the big screen while wearing my matching maroon velvet jacket. And I was not disappointed in the slightest! I loved the episode and left the theater full of happy feelings about how excellent Bill is as a companion and what a fresh, perfect fit is was for the Doctor to be lecturing at a university. More importantly, for this blog at least, I was inspired.
I was inspired by Bill’s love of learning, attending the Doctor’s lectures even though she wasn’t a student and responding to challenges with a smile.
I was inspired as always by the Doctor, a hero who doesn’t carry weapons but instead uses his brain, a screwdriver, and two hearts full of compassion to save the day.
Not long ago, I stumbled upon an article that quoted Peter Capaldi in response to cyberbullying:
The essence of Doctor Who is kindness… This is a person who moves through time and space and history, and all kinds of situations, and reacts to them, ultimately – despite the way the different versions of him may appear – he reacts with kindness.
This quote expresses one of the reasons I love this show so much. My most closely held value is kindness (sidenote: I’m a Hufflepuff). A few months ago I attended a health promotion conference for work, where I sat in on a keynote presentation on “finding your life’s purpose.” For the first time I connected my values to my own purpose, which after consideration is essentially, to be kind.
That brings me to the purpose of this blog. That night I was feeling particularly inspired to live out my own newly discovered purpose and do my small part to make the world a kinder place. Plus, with our current situation, I think the world could use kindness now more than ever. I decided I would act on that inspiration by going on my own adventure, alongside the Doctor and Bill each week.
While I can’t actually travel through time or space, I will explore what it means to be kind and document my adventure here. Following each episode of Doctor Who: Season 10, I will delve into kindness research, teachings, and practices. Hopefully, I will learn and grow along the way, and maybe, if I’m lucky, inspire a bit of kindness.
Hooray for kindness and adventure!
x Caitlin
12 ADVENTURES IN SPACE, TIME, & KINDNESS 