Kindness

This seems like an obvious thing to be grateful for but I am.  I see kindness everywhere, but still I long for more.   Perhaps you feel the same.

My Facebook feed fills with videos of runners helping other runners cross the finish line when they are too exhausted to go on. Or the baby animal rescues, those get me every time.  Simple kindness.  My eyes fill with tears when I see how much money can be raised on social media for everything ranging from Syrian refugees to high school students trying to get to a national debate competition.  Kindness.

Closer to home, I’m touched by kindness almost daily.  A few weeks ago, I was struck with a cold and a friend brought me soup.  On the way to the train this morning, a car ceded the right of way to let me pass, an act of kindness almost extinct in busy, bustling Palo Alto.  Kindness.   An unexpected compliment, a friendly gesture, or a warm greeting makes my day.   Like so many other good things in life, when I look for it, I always find it.

Why does it seem like kindness is in scarcity rather than abundance?

Like a good lawyer, I looked it up.  Kindness is defined as the quality of being friendly, compassionate, and loving.  But I also found references to many Biblical verses on kindness.  Admonishing us to act with kindness, to replicate God’s kindness to our fellow man, lecturing on the benefits of kindness.  Kindness also warrants top mention on the list of Christian virtues.  But it obviously doesn’t come naturally to us humans, or we wouldn’t have to be reminded about it so frequently.  It is a learned behavior, one that must be practiced and celebrated.

So this is my homage to kindness.  Here’s to the bumper sticker saying “Practice Random Acts of Kindness.”  Even more important, here’s to everyone who actually does practice random acts of kindness.