What If We . . .

Articles Submitted by Guest Authors 39 comments
Infinity Circles in Blue and Pink
Photo Credit: http://www.darcypattison.com

Ever since I began working with Mike on The Kindness Blog, I find myself constantly on the lookout for kindness everywhere I go.  Some days, I am overwhelmed by the love and kindness in the world, and other days, I wonder where all the love and kindness have gone.  One theme that I have noticed is how, quite often, the smallest acts of kindness can mean the most to the recipient.  Today, I found myself surrounded by examples of this theme that left me asking myself what if we. . .

  • smiled at, and made eye contact with, people we encounter, instead of looking down at our tablets, shutting out the world with our headphones, talking on our cell phones, etc.?
  • took time to thank people, instead of taking them for granted?
  • used social media to promote others in a positive manner, rather than shaming or humiliating them?
  • doled out compliments to ourselves and others as readily as we dole out criticisms?
  • offered an apology, instead of serving up an excuse?
  • donated our time, talent, and treasure to help those in need in our local and global communities, instead of waiting for someone else to step up and do it?
  • truly loved and respected ourselves, instead of wallowing in self-loathing and self-sabotaging?
  • lifted people up, instead of tearing them down?
  • found reasons to include people, instead of excluding them?
  • gave people a hand up, instead of keeping our hands to ourselves?
  • made kindness a way of life, instead of a random act?

What if we did all of these things and performed countless other acts of love, kindness, and service?  Could we change the world?  Save a life?  End conflicts and wars?  Well, there’s only way to find out . . .

Just one thing each day . . .

 

39 comments

  15. Blogging about kindness is different than being kind. Over the years I have read a lot about “kindness” but sometimes the words don’t equal up with the actions. Perhaps adding a “kindness” request to our morning prayers might make a difference. Just thinking out loud here after reading the first lines of your post here. “Dear God, along with all my other requests and statements, please hear my plea for a mega dose of kindness in my world, both stemming from others and from myself”. Breathing with kindness in mind, might be an interesting concept, but then, also, along with that kindness knowing that in some circumstances, kindness doesn’t always work. And sometimes our honesty, while effective, and sometimes while helpful, doesn’t always “appear” kind. 🙂

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    1. Thank for taking the time to both read this post and to share your thoughts. I really like the idea of a kindness request as part of prayer, and I agree that our actions and words must match. We enjoy being able to blog about kindness, but even more than that, we love striving to be kind in how we speak, act, and think. We may not always succeed, but we will keep trying.

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