Kindness

Glen Campbell wrote and performed a song that I think is an anthem for a better world.   It is titled "Let Me Be a Little Kinder".

What a great goal - to be kinder than necessary.  So often, we get caught up in the inside of our heads; with our endless "to-do" lists, our plans and dreams and our problems and challenges.  For some reason, for most people, it is easier to be judgmental than to be kind.

The thing is, everyone is carrying burdens you can't see.

The person who cut you off in traffic?  They were hurrying to the hospital, hoping to get there before their mother passes away.

The person in the grocery store who spoke sharply to the cashier?  Just found out they have terminal cancer.

The salesperson in the department store who seemed to care more about their phone call than your business?  They were talking to their best friend who was threatening to commit suicide.

It is easy to get annoyed when we think we have been disrespected in some way.  But we can learn to meet all challenges with kindness.

My fortune cookie at 17 years old, "It is better to not perceive an insult than to seek to avenge one".

Maybe the person who cut you off in traffic is just a jerk.  Does thinking about them that way do anything to improve you, your day, or the world?

But if you flip that occasion - "Dear Higher Power - please lighten the load of that distracted driver so that they don't cause an accident" you just put some good karma back in the universe.

If you regularly read my blog, you will notice a recurring theme.  You live in the world you notice and nurture.  By nature, I am a happy person.  I stay that way by feeding my happiness, by feeding goodwill.

There will always be people who are self-absorbed, self-serving, and unkind.  There will always be people who are actually more comfortable with hate than love.  You don't have to be one of those people.

The thing is, you probably can't change the people who chose hate anyway.  So by choosing kindness, by choosing compassion, you increase the level of goodwill and happiness in your world.  Make it a goal to surprise a smile or a laugh out of someone every day.

There are people carrying heavy burdens, your kind word could be the thing that makes their burden bearable today.  What a great gift!