The Power of Kindness
On March 18, 2010 in Thought for the Day
The other day, while driving to a meeting, the car ahead of me started to change lanes, apparently unaware of a car already in that lane. The horn blew and the car in front of me swerved back in to his original lane. Everyone was fine. And then the driver of the car that blew the horn pulled along side of the car in front of me, screamed, swore and gestured – then drove off like a madman. I saw the driver in front of me was visibly shaken.
I was meeting a colleague for coffee. While waiting at the coffee shop, I watched as person after person entered without holding the door for another person or greeting anyone.
At the checkout counter in a food store, I watched as a woman with two items and obviously pressed for time, asked to step ahead of a woman with a full cart. The woman with the full cart said “no” and reminder her it was important to wait her turn.
Watching these I was reminded of something I read recently in Krista Tippett’s new book, Einstein’s God. It was a quote from Philo “Be kind because everyone you meet is carrying a great burden.” Life is tough. All of us have difficult things going on and at times we can all be pretty fragile.
But notice our response when we hear a kind word, a respectful gesture or just a little bit of care. We respond in kind. We share the emotion. We feel better.
Check in on your words and actions. How kind are they?
Try these to build back some kindness in your day:
1. Commit to random acts of kindness. Smile, hold a door open, buy the person behind you in line a coffee, send a card, make a call.
2. Listen to your self-talk. Redirect it to positive and supportive, instead of negative and critical. When you are kinder to yourself, you’ll be kinder to others.
3. Plan your time better to eliminate the need to rush. A less hurried day has time for kindness.
The power of kindness is extraordinary. In a world that seems to dwell on challenges and unhappiness, redirect your energy into being kind to yourself and to others. As Gandhi said, “Be the change you want to see in the world.” And it starts with kindness.
For more information go to www.LiveFiredUp.com.
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