Kindness is something that I think is both innate and learned. For many of us, we simply have a natural desire to be kind to others on a daily basis. For others of us, we learn it from those in our life, or even from circumstances in our life.
Innate Kindness
Personally, I have found a great source of energy in being kind to others. I’m not talking about grand gestures. But the kind of gestures that are easy to do every day in almost any way. Whether it’s a smile and a hug for a loved one, learning their favorite treat and giving it to them on a challenging day, or holding the door for a stranger. It’s just me. To me, this is innate kindness (not to toot my own horn!)
Lucky are we that we live in a world where there are so many people that live with innate kindness within them. I know that they inspire me to do more, be more. Some people though, well they take kindness to a whole new level.
Ellen Degeneres
Ellen Degeneres is a perfect example of just that. On a global level, daily she makes us laugh, lightens our days, and shows us how to be kind in new ways. Her well-timed humor shows us how to have so much fun at the cost of no one. And she ends every show with a simple reminder to us all to be kind.
Tied to her kindness is her generosity. She’s generous in ways that instill further kindness in people. She supports organizations and people that have exemplified kindness by who they are and what they do to help others. Ellen…. Now that innate kindness personified!
Learned Kindness
Many of us have learned kindness from great leaders, like Ellen. We learn not only the importance of it but also how to be kind. There are so many ways to be kind that sometimes we don’t realize what it really takes. Ellen and others who exhibit kindness in their daily life show us how to be kind in just about every way and every day.
For me, my kindness heightened when I became chronically ill. I learned how much a small act of kindness truly means when a person is having a particularly challenging day. It can cast a beam of light on a dark day, let the sunshine in, and open the door to hope. It can turn an entire day around. Knowing this, I’ve made it a mission to be kind to everyone I can, but most of all my chronic illness friends. This kindness, I have learned.
How Does Kindness Enter Your World?
How do kind acts affect you? What acts of kindness do you appreciate the most? Is there anything in your life that has inspired you to be even more kind?
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