What is kindness?
Kindness begins with a thought…
You can act kindly only when you think positively. It is an expression of your thought! You can’t pretend. It comes from the heart! The thought becomes your words. If you can’t say kind words, keep quiet. Bhagavad Gita Ch 17, verse 15 emphasizes the austerity of speech.
You can be kind to someone if you already have a preconceived positive notion about that person or thing, but your kindness vanishes when you have a negative thought about the same person or thing.
A mother’s love is the ultimate kindness. Everyone, she pretty much experienced it. She is the symbolic epitome of kindness so we can all learn what kindness is. Kindness is love expressed without expecting anything in return.
If we can emulate that same love to everyone around us, we would be in a wonderful world! Kindness is expressed the same way whether it’s directed toward a baby, a toddler, an adult, or an older person, but we often choose to be different to different people based on our own biases.
Many times it can be seen that one can be nice to one’s own child but not to a neighbor’s child. You can be nice to your family when you need something from them, but not when the family needs something from them!
Kindness is helping when you need it with what you can, when you can, even if it’s just with a smile, a hug or a listen. Others can express their kindness in other ways, that’s okay because it’s not a competition or a standard. Kindness does not mean that you agree with others all the time. It means that you agree to disagree, you agree to live and let live. People often confuse being kind with kindness.
It is a similar reputation and character. Reputation is how others perceive you, while character is who you are. Being nice is based on how people see you and being nice is how you see yourself. Only when you are content and happy can you express kindness. If you feel deficient in your life, that too will express itself.
Being kind could be interpreted as weakness and taken advantage of, but a kind person forgives that too. Kindness is being kind even in mean times.
A kind person is often thought of, in times of darkness. more often the absence is felt than the presence.
Why is kindness necessary?
Scott Adams said: ‘Remember there is no such thing as a small act of kindness. Each act creates a wave without logical end’.
There are many people who are less fortunate with resources, health, both physical and mental, and family. First, we need to count our blessings. Helen Keller quote: ‘I cried because I had no shoes until I saw a man with no legs’, only then do you feel empathy, compassion towards others and gratitude for what you have!
What are some ways we can express kindness? There are several ways…Choose to add extra currency while parking than required, someone can get the benefit. Leave change for charity after shopping, fill water in a large pot or lemonade in another pot outside the house for unknown walkers on the street to quench their thirst, water plants, feed birds and animals, feed hunger when you’re out and when you’re approached to get a meal at a restaurant. Nothing you do for others is insignificant.
Cheer up and do something good for others, what you can, when you can, with what you have, to bring a smile to that face. Do this with seniors, people in homes, terminally ill people, homeless people, and lonely people. You will make a big difference in his life. They often need us to be quiet and listen to them. Did you notice that these two words have the same letters?
How can we be kind?
Kindness begins at home, be kind to your family members. You are where you are thanks to them. Your parents, your siblings, relatives, coworkers, subordinates, and supervisors have all contributed in one way or another.
One thing I learned from my mother is: ‘Learn to see the positive aspects of everyone in your life and remember them forever. If you come across negative memories about others, forget them instantly, only then will kindness, compassion and benevolence spring forth.’ She also said: ‘Try not to judge anyone for their behaviour, people are inherently kind and compassionate, but the challenges they have faced in their life, and on a specific day, make them different. You, by being kind, can have a great impact on their lives.’
We just need to clear our minds so that kindness will be revealed to everyone who crosses our path!
