A simple act

I received a phone call for advice the other night and the woman who called me prefaced this with the words, ‘because you’re the kindest person I know’…

All I thought when she said that was, no I’m not. Yes I try to be but I am certainly not as kind as I think I used to be. Till situations and people tarnished my good energy and took advantage of something I offered so freely. They say you need to keep your heart open. To lead with love. That despite everything that breaks you down to remain open.

How?

Some will still argue this on my behalf. My husband begrudgingly demanded the other day that I stop taking on everyone else’s problems. The thing is, or my problem seems to be… that I like to help, I like to show kindness and compassion. But along the way I’ve shown it to many who have taken advantage. Truth be told I don’t know how to distinguish who is more deserving of that kindness. Is it the broken person who shows none, who needs to see this more than anyone to believe there is still hope in the world? Or is it the person who shows kindness to everyone they meet and understands the world is a better place because of how they choose to show up everyday?

I don’t know, I also don’t think it’s my place to make that assumption because I haven’t walked in their shoes so I don’t make that call, even through gritted teeth sometimes I do my best to be kind. It doesn’t cost anything yet sometimes it can be the hardest thing to release.

We use the phrase ‘kill them with kindness’. I love that, it adds some humor to the fact that sometimes something so easy is actually rather painful. I’ll admit, I don’t always show it. Moods get the better of me, situations influence my reaction, life happens. It’s not something I’m proud of and I’m generally the first person to put my hand up and admit my wrongdoing, but it doesn’t mean that I stop trying.

We live in a world where everyone passes judgement on each other. For how they act, what they wear, their daily choices, who they wrong, how perfect they appear to be.

So the one thing I can control is me. How I am with people around me. How I treat others. It’s testing at times but I also have little eyes on me watching every move and interaction I make and when I see them demonstrating what they’ve witnessed – it melts my soul. That’s when I know my kindness has paved the way to set a benchmark for how they will treat others and expect others to treat them.

I hope this motivates you to show a little kindness in your life today, you don’t know how much that small act will touch someone’s heart and better yet, I hope someone shows you some kindness today to inspire you into creating this as a daily habit.