Kindness Has NO Expiration Date
According to dictionary.com, kindness means:
the state or quality of being kind;
a kind act or favor;
kind behavior.
Some of the synonyms for kindness are: affection, goodness, tenderness, tolerance, understanding, unselfishness, patience, gentleness, and sympathy.
That is quite a list, is it not? And, that list offers so many options for ways to be more kind.
Just stop and look around you. Look at the news - but only briefly. Listen to the words of those around you. Watch. Observe. Listen.
How much kindness did you find?
Sadly, I wager not very much.
Right?
Kindness is, perhaps, the easiest thing in the world to do. It doesn't cost a dime. It has no expiration date. And, there is, literally no end to it - unless you make it be so.
"Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love." Lao Tzu
Wow! Nailed it!
When I get up each morning, my first prayer is that my Abba will help me keep a smile on my face and in my heart all day. And, that He will make it so bright that it radiates out to all around me.
Yes, even while talking to cranky, angry, unhappy customers all day. I focus on actually smiling and believing that transmits over the phone lines.
"Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see." Mark Twain
Indeed! Words don't even need to be included.
"Carry out a random act of kindness, with no expectation of reward, safe in the knowledge that one day someone might do the same for you." Princess Diana
And, that right there, that is your reward for sharing kindness with no limit. As much kindness as you show someone, be they human, animal, or other, it WILL come back to you several times over.
Plus, there is the added heart glow you get just because no one else even knows what just happened.
It's SO easy!!
Next time you are in a restaurant or a drive-thru, pay for someone's meal.
The next person who crosses your path may need a smile, or a kind word, or a hug.
Someone may be struggling with packages while loading them into their car.
A mother may have her hands full with a crying infant, and need a hand with another child(ren).
You may see someone drop something they aren't aware of.
Or, they may have dropped something and are having difficulty picking it up.
There are always stranded motorists along the highways and byways. In this day and age, this one can be tricky or dangerous. However, with cell phones, it's very easy to call for assistance for them.
"Truth is a deep kindness that teaches us to be content in our everyday life and share with the people the same happiness." Khalil Gibran
The more we show kindness to others, the more our own hearts are filled with the joy that comes from sharing kindness. That's just the way it works.
Just try it! Not once. Not twice. Many times and you will see what Mr. Gibran meant.
"Kindness is in our power, even when fondness is not." Samuel Johnson
That is NOT meant to be a selling point, but, just extending kindness to someone does not mean you have to become their best friend. Hey, it doesn't mean you even have to like them. Just be kind!
"Constant kindness can accomplish much. As the sun makes ice melt, kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust, and hostility to evaporate."
No other words are needed about this one. Truth!
"Beginning today, treat everyone you meet as if they were going to be dead by midnight. Extend to them all the care, kindness and understanding you can muster, and do it with no thought of any reward. Your life will never be the same again." Og Mandino
Having read most every book written by Og Mandino, this was (and is) the very essence of that man's heart.
Don't you want to be and live like that? I sure do!
"It's also selfish because it makes you feel good when you help others. I've been helped by acts of kindness from strangers. That's why we're here, after all, to help others." Carol Burnett
Selfish may the the topic for another blog, but here, Carol has a point. We do gain as much as the person we share kindness with. We also gain wisdom from that moment. Is that really selfish?
"When I pontificate, it sounds so, you know, Oh, well, she's preaching. I'm not preaching, but I think maybe I learned it from my animal friends. Kindness and consideration of somebody besides yourself. I think that keeps you feeling young. I really do." Betty White
Yes! Yes!! Yes!!!
What's the first thing that happens when you walk in the door at the end of the day? Your four-legged child is there dancing around from sheer joy that you are finally home again, right? Is that not kindness being shown? Of course it is.
When you are sad and your four-legged child puts their chin on your knee and just looks at you with so much love in their eyes, is that not kindness being shown?
When you're four-legged child snuggles up as close as they can get to you and rolls over showing you their belly, that signifies they are making themselves completely vulnerable to you. Is that not showing kindness? And, SO much love!!
"Remember there's no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end."
The best part of one small act of kindness? It has no end. Literally.
You may not see how far that one smile you shared travels, but it will. It will touch others via the person you shared it with. They will share it. And, they will share it. And, on and on and on...
Isn't that incredible?
Doesn't it make you want to run and and find someone to be kind to?
Or, doesn't it make you want to pick up the phone and call just to tell someone hello and that you miss them?
How about just taking a walk in the neighborhood and say hello (with a smile) to all you cross paths with?
There are no limits, there are no right or wrong ways, and there are never bad times for sharing kindness.
So, are you ready to put this into action?
Let's do this!
Well, I have to say goodbye now because I am off to feed the ducks and geese and see whoever else I can find today to share smiles and laughs with. Or to say kind words to. Or...well, you have the idea now. Run with it!
Take care and I will see you here next week!!
