What does it really mean to be kind? To me, it’s so much more than just being nice or doing the right thing. Kindness is a lot deeper than that. Kindness has a lot to do with the condition of your heart and not just your outward actions. Everyone can be nice, and everyone can do the right thing. But sometimes it’s actually really hard to be nice and do the right thing for the right reasons and not just out of obligation.
It’s sad, but a lot of times these days, it’s cool to be unkind. Even with all the anti-bullying campaigns and people being strangely more sensitive than is rational, unkindness still abounds. I think that reason is because in order to be kind you cannot only be surface level, but a lot of times we as a people really are just that. Kids these days really aren’t that deep, and when we do try to be deep it’s just to look inwards instead of outwards at other’s needs.
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It’s become funny and popular to be petty just for the fun of it, to bash your ex on social media, even though a week ago you were in love with them. It’s not acceptable to make fun of someone’s looks so now people make fun someone’s beliefs, and if someone dares not to believe the more mainstream way then they’re just an uneducated bigot that deserves to be put in their place. It’s ridiculous. There is no real empathy or understanding.
To be kind you must be understanding. You must be able to look past the present and act upon what’s good and best for the person you’re dealing with. Living a life of kindness is an act of selflessness. And it’s really hard to do. Does that mean that you should be a pushover? No. Does that mean that you have to always agree with others? No. But it does mean that you have to look at the big picture and act upon that.
To be kind you have to think kind thoughts. It’s pretty much impossible to be kind all the time, but it is possible to be kind the majority of the time. Kindness is a sign of a strong person. The thing about kindness it that it looks like love. To be kind is to be compassionate, understanding, selfless and gentle. To be kind is one of the hardest things you’ll ever train yourself to do. But it’s so worth it.
We are in a world where selfishness, pettiness, and judgement abound and are praised. But is that really the kind of people we want to be? I say we push ourselves to be so much more than that. I say instead of doing what’s easy we push ourselves and do what challenges us. And that’s to live our lives not as if we were the center of the universe, but so that we can lift others up to their full potential, so that we too can reach ours. I say, let’s be kind.
