The Legacy of the Quietly Kind

I think about the people who leave a room better than they found it.

They aren’t usually the ones making the most noise or seeking the spotlight. They are the ones who remember your name, who ask about your sick dog, and who actually listen when you answer. During today’s National Kindness Week news conference, the name Kirsty Duncan kept coming up.

The late Kirsty Duncan was among the many MPs and Senators who voted to make National Kindness Week a reality when the legislation passed in 2021. She passed away on January 26, 2026, at the age of 59, following a courageous three-year battle with cancer. Her death was announced in the House of Commons with a moment of silence and subsequent tributes from all political parties, who remembered her as a “legend” and a “champion of science.”

Her colleagues described her as an ‘exemplar of kindness’ and someone the House misses dearly.

It’s interesting, isn’t it? When someone passes or moves on, we rarely talk about their specific policy wins first. We talk about how they made us feel.

Michael Barrett also spoke about the late Rabbi Reuven Bulka, the man who inspired the national legislation for this week. He was known as ‘Canada’s rabbi,’ not because of his status, but because of his heart.

Rabbi Bulka started Kindness Week in Ottawa back in 2011, and he didn’t do it for the fame. He did it because he knew that a community is only as strong as its smallest acts of compassion. Barrett pushed to get the bill passed quickly when the Rabbi was unwell, a final act of respect for a man who spent his life teaching us how to care for one another.

This makes me wonder what kind of legacy we are all building in our daily interactions.

We’re often told to focus on our ‘personal brand’ or our career milestones, but the most enduring thing you can leave behind is a reputation for being kind. It’s the way you treat people who can do absolutely nothing for you. That’s the real test.

Whether it’s an MP like Kirsty Duncan or a local leader like Rabbi Bulka, the common thread is a refusal to let the bitterness of the world change their core.

Legacy isn’t just for history books; it’s for the people who have to live in the space you leave behind. As we reflect on National Kindness Week, maybe we can ask ourselves who our own ‘exemplars’ are. Who are the people in your life who model gentleness?

By acknowledging them, we keep that spirit alive.

We don’t have to be perfect, and we don’t have to be famous.

We just have to be the kind of people who make others feel a little less alone in a big, confusing world.