
February 2025 Calendar
Story
Read MoreHeading into a month themed around love and relationships can be incredibly isolating for some people. At Recovery Café Longmont, we strive to be a community of refuge and healing for all so we’re approaching February in a way that creates warm fuzzy feelings for everyone: centering the month around kindness. Whether it be referring a friend to a local resource or bringing a home-cooked meal to the Café, the bedstone of accomplishing our mission is kindness. From our members to our volunteers and staff, positivity and goodwill radiate through our space.
Recently, Ryan Dowd of the Homeless Library shared his theory on the “levels” of kindness. Bridging the gap between a definition and distinction, he shared with us these “kinds of kindness:”
Level One: Someone is kind to you, so you’re kind back.
Level Two: You are kind to someone who has not been kind to you, but they could in the future.
Level Three: You are kind to someone who can likely never help you.
Level Four: You are kind to someone you will never meet.
Level Five: You are kind to someone, and it will cost you.
Level Six: You are kind to someone who has harmed you.
While levels one and two are relatively simple and done on a near-daily basis by most people, levels three through six take more conscious work and effort. Although some may not be ready to work their way up to level six, Dowd recommends going one level outside of your comfort zone and seeing how that feels (spoiler alert – it will feel good!). Dowd explains that tapping into these higher levels of kindness could be the very foundation for building a better world.
Reflecting on these definitions, it’s easy to see how each of these levels is embodied daily here at Recovery Café Longmont – and while our work may not have a worldwide impact, we leave each day knowing we made a positive impact on our local community. We hope, over time, to see the goodness spreading further and further.
Level One: Someone is kind to you, so you’re kind back.
We share smiles, laughs, and meals. We empower each other through positive affirmations and create a place where everyone belongs.
Level Two: You are kind to someone who has not been kind to you, but they could in the future.
Each day, we have visitors and guests who are initially strangers, but leave as members of our community; no matter who you are, you are met with a smile and a warm welcome. Our peer support specialists and volunteers lend a listening ear to whoever may need it, without judgment.
Level Three: You are kind to someone who can likely never help you.
Coming from all walks of life, our members are connected to a variety of resources, which they share with each other without hesitation. They give each other rides to appointments, they are warm and welcoming towards our guests, and most importantly, they have built a community around this space and each other, even if their comradery may never leave this building.
Level Four: You are kind to someone you will never meet.
Café Cooks bring in food five days a week not knowing whose mouths they’ll feed, but deliver nutrition, warmth, and love into the Café regardless. Members of the community bring in clothes, food, hand-sewn bags, bicycles, salon chairs, eyeglasses, and more to support the success of our members in their recovery journeys.
Level Five: You are kind to someone, and it will cost you.
Our dedicated and compassionate volunteers share their time each week with us – many have families, jobs, and other responsibilities, yet they give their full selves to our members. Peer support specialists expend their time and energy connecting members to resources, their work spanning far beyond the daily operations at the Café; whether it be making connections in the community, searching job listings in Longmont, or calling local government agencies to better understand an individual’s situation, their kindness extends far beyond the expectations of their jobs at the Café.
Level Six: You are kind to someone who has harmed you.
At times, we find individuals who struggle to uphold the values of Recovery Café Longmont – at these junctures, we give every opportunity to continue offering support and guidance. Most importantly, we forgive, and when boundaries are crossed, we still wish the best for anyone who walks through our doors.
Ryan Dowd’s six levels of kindness remind us that there are many ways we can show up to support each other and create a positive, uplifting world – even with the odds stacked against us. To share our kindness with our community and feel it in return is a gift that inspires hope, and helps us continue doing what we do.