The door is open, come on in. Todays question? How much kindness can you give away? I've been thinking of kindness as a currency. How it is exchanged between us all, as we scurry about, bumping into one another. I guess I'm asking myself, and You dear reader... How much kindness do you give away? I think the potential here is endless. With even the slightest bit of effort... The rippling effects can reach far and wide. Once, many years ago... I challenged myself... To go into the grocery store... With the intent to connect. To smile. To engage strangers. To be a little light. Yes, I bought a few needed groceries too. But the little experiment was really a test to see "How much kindness could I give away?" And with every bit I passed around, it came back to me. Little did I know that almost 9 years later I would still be mulling over this idea. That I would still be conducting little kindness experiments. Funny thing is... Now it's more of a lifestyle habit, it is something I practice at and strive for. Because giving away kindness.... Feels good and it costs me so little. and the more you give away.
The more you want to give. Take this morning for instance. I went to the local post office to mail off a few packages. Once inside, it was clear that I was too early. There, waiting with me, was a sweet little lady. She turned to me and said "I guess we will have to wait for 15 minutes" and before I even knew what I was doing, I had invited her to join me for coffee. Just a few doors down, at the coffee shop she didnt even know existed... We shared a table. I treated her to coffee, we talked about life, love and learning from grief. She was an absolute delight. It made my day! After I finished coffee with this dear little 86 year old, and my postal errand. I headed to the hardware store. I was meandering through the flowers when I couldnt help but notice... This little old man, struggling to lift a bag of soil. He needed 3. So I helped him. Back home as I was unloading the flowers I had purchased... a woman walked by. She didnt speak english & I dont speak her language but we had a conversation of sorts... Over the flowers. We both smiled, kindness had been exchanged. We are all human, a desire to connect resides in our hearts, in our bones. We want to see & be seen. There is a whole mess of ugliness and shame and heartache and hurt out there. But hidden in each of us...we have the best weapon ... to help errode the effects of all that pain It's little seeds of kindness. That we can give away. That we can plant in our lives and watch grow like wildflowers. Friends, I gave away kindness today and I want to give more. I recieved kindness back. And my heart keeps beating wildly... With the ever growing love for those I pass on the street, at the store, in the post office. We are all here, effecting one another, how much kindness can we give away?
1 Comment
Tonia
5/12/2016 10:39:53 am
I'm so glad I read this today. It's a true reminder to be kind. Treat others as you would like to be treated. I look forward to getting to know you!
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October 2021
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