KINDNESS
I have become intrigued by kindness.
Kindness was not something I used to ponder often. Now I place it in my top five values alongside respect and courage.
“Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.”
It really is so important and so simple, yet apparently not so easy for many.
Random Acts of Kindness (RAK) are particularly inspiring. I am no “RAK guru” but I was recently involved in a very small initiative which surprised me: My birthday was approaching, and Facebook suggested I raise money for a cause as part of my birthday focus. I spontaneously decided to go for it but set a modest target as I was conscious that people are being asked for money all the time.
Well, before my age increased, a number of my friends had seemingly randomly donated way in excess of the target I’d set. One in particular, just looked at the target shortfall and covered it. I’ve not seen him since 2011! This kindness is touching, relatively unsolicited, and completely unselfish. It reminds me of the concept of “pay it forward”.
Pay it forward is best illustrated for me by parenting. I can never directly repay my parents for their kindness when I was growing up, but I can be kind to my children as they grow up. I try to remind myself of that when the kids are testing my patience. It actually enhances my own awareness of how much my parents did for me!
Interestingly, with parenting, sometimes we have to be “cruel to be kind”, such as limiting the amount of ice cream my 3-year old consumes in a day. Or limiting the amount of time our kids spend on the iPad!
There is a lot of negativity around. Would it not be great to reduce that?
It starts with each of us, and each of our daily interactions with others. Small opportunities which if seized by everyone, could make a massive difference in the world. How hard is it to just be kind?
Here are three very simple acts of kindness that I try to maintain:
- Greet others.
- Smile more.
- Listen to understand.
And finally, some notable quotes to inspire us on the subject:
“My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness.” – Dalai Lama
“Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.” – Mother Teresa
Thank you kindly for reading this.
