Kindness

In the Naples Daily news there was an article outlining the benefits of kindness.  Of course one is your health.  Kindness can lead to healing.  You never know when a very simple act of kindness will be the only light in someone's day.  If you feel dark clouds hanging over your head, you can think outside yourself and be kind to someone else. Their positive response to you will help clear those clouds.

Kindness does not have to be complicated. It can be in the moment.  It can be towards the person sharing the room with you.  Your loved ones are sometimes the last ones to see your kindness.  It is just safer to be in a dark mood in private.

Kindness is an act of caring without expecting anything back.  If you are picking up a dropped credit card for a stranger.  You will get a smile or maybe a, "I can get that,"  The happened when I had passed a table of younger women when a credit card just hit the ground.  I just replied, "No bother."  Then we all giggled when I proceeded to also pick up spilled pennies and dimes, declaring that I was working on my squat muscles.  We exchanged well wishes and then I never saw them again, but the air was lighter.

I think being kind is different than being nice.  Being nice is a felt obligation.  We get in trouble being nice.  We are nice and don't say no when we should.  We are nice and not tell the truth when we should.  Yes sometimes it is better to keep your mouth shut when you have nothing nice to say, but when asked it usually is better to say the truth with tact and love.  Never are you required to say everything that is in your mind.

Many of us feel last year was brutal.  We ranted, yelled and whined.  I cringed at the hateful names people were call each other, often never knowing the person on the receiving end.  All that frustration and anxiety lead to real depression in some. To make things worse, there was a large group of people making fun and belittling the ones that were loosing hope. 

That made me angry.  Anger can just take over.  I do not want to be an angry person.  Anger is used to hide grief and depression.  It is said to be a secondary emotion, fueled by another emotions.  The Bible says do not go to bed with your anger.  That is easier said than done. 

I broke that spell on me, not play in the fight any longer.  I would spend my time being kind.  I quickly changed my outlook.  Life can come down to attitude. 

Of course the newspaper talked about how kindness can truly lead to the healing of our country.  Genius.  If we let go of some of what we cannot have and focus on being kind, the endless loops seems to evaporate.  It is simple.  It is right where you stand.  All of the sudden you can do something.

Hope arises and maybe paths appear toward what was seemed impossible yessterday ...